A MEMOIR 
 
 OF THE 
 
 REVEREND SYDIEY SMITH. 
 
 I 
 
 BY UTS DAUGHTER, 
 
 LADY HOLLAND 
 
 WITH 
 
 A SELECTION FROM HIS LETTERS, 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 MRS. AUSTIN. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 
 
 FRANKLIN S Q U A U K. 
 
 1855. 
 
THIS MEMOIR OF MV FATHER, 
 THE PREPARATION FOR WHICH WAS THE CONSTANT 
 
 OCCUPATION OF MY MOTHER S LIFE, 
 AND THE COMPLETION OF WHICH WAS THE MOST EARNEST 
 
 OBJECT OF HER DESIRE, 
 
 BOTH IN HER LIFE AND AT HER DEATH, 
 WHICH NOTHING BUT HER EARNEST DESIRE COULD HAVE 
 
 GIVEN ME COURAGE TO ATTEMPT, 
 I NOW DEDICATE TO HER MEMORY, 
 
 BELIEVING IT 
 
 TO BE THE MOST GRATEFUL TRIBUTE I CAN OFFER 
 ON HER GRAVE. 
 
AUTHOR S PREFACE. 
 
 SYDNEY SMITH S Life : lie who opens this book under 
 the expectation of reading in it curious adventures, im 
 portant transactions, or public events, had better close 
 the volume, for none of these things will he find therein. 
 
 Nothing can be more thoroughly private and event 
 less than the narrative I am about to give ; yet I feel 
 myself, and I have reason to believe there are many who 
 will feel with me, that this Life is not therefore uninter 
 esting or unimportant : for, though circumstances over 
 which my father had no control forbade his taking that 
 active share in the affairs of his country, for which his 
 talents and his character so eminently fitted him, yet 
 neither circumstances nor power could suppress these 
 talents, or subdue and enfeeble that character ; and I 
 believe I may assert, without danger of contradiction, 
 that by them, and the use he has made of them, he has 
 earned for himself a place among the great men of his 
 time and country. 
 
 Such being the case, however, his talents, and the 
 employment of them, are alone before the world. This 
 is but half 1 the picture, and I believe few who have 
 known so much do not wish to know more. 
 
 The mode of life, the heart, the habits, the thoughts 
 and feelings, the conversation, the home, the occupa 
 tions of such a man all, in short, which can give life 
 and reality to the picture are as yet wanting ; and it 
 is to endeavor to supply this want that I have ventured 
 to undertake this task. 
 
 It is always more difficult to write the lifo of a pri- 
 
iv PREFACE. 
 
 vate than of a public man. There are many things 
 likewise which make that of my father a peculiarly 
 difficult one to delineate 5 and I should shrink from the 
 task I have undertaken, from the fear of not doing it 
 justice, had not death made such fearful havoc among 
 his early contemporaries, and those best fitted to do jus 
 tice to his memory ; and age, business, or health, placed 
 insuperable obstacles in the way of alt those abler pens 
 which both my mother and I had once hoped might un 
 dertake it. 
 
 I therefore, from these causes, and in accordance with 
 my mother s most earnest desire, repeated in her will, 
 that some record of his virtues should be written, ven 
 ture to- give to the public these recollections of my fa 
 ther, which I had previously been collecting for some 
 years solely for myself and my children, together with 
 numerous contributions from various friends. 
 
 With these materials, illustrating the selection of his 
 letters, which my friend Mrs. Austin has kindly under 
 taken to edit, I trust to lay before the public such a 
 record of my father s character, as a son, a clergyman, a 
 father, a husband, and a friend, as may be deemed by 
 them not unworthy of the reputation he has already ac 
 quired for talent and honesty by his writings. 
 
 If I succeed, I shall have accomplished the object I 
 have most at heart. If I fail, I trust that with many 
 my motive will be some excuse ; and that they will at 
 tribute it to the inability and inexperience of his advo 
 cate, and not to the weakness of the cause. 
 
 In giving these annals of my father s life, the object 
 has been, as much as possible, to make him speak for 
 himself, even where (as in some few instances) a por 
 tion of them have already appeared before the public ; 
 as these extracts serve to weave together the rest of the 
 narrative, and are of course far better than any thing I 
 could put in their place. 
 
PREFACE. v 
 
 The points which can alone justify the publication of 
 these recollections and letters are, that they shall neither 
 hurt the living, injure the dead, or impair the reputation 
 of their author. These objects we have endeavored 
 most strenuously to keep in view. There is little in 
 the Avhole work that could give pain, even if every par 
 ticular were understood. Most of the persons alluded 
 to have been long since dead, and the allusions for 
 gotten. Yet, should there be, in either the letters or 
 the narrative, any anecdote accidentally preserved which 
 may meet the eye of those who, from intimacy with 
 him, or from having been present at the scene described, 
 could lift the vail that has been purposely thrown over 
 it, let me here entreat them, if they loved my father in 
 life, and honor his memory in death, never, by their 
 explanations, to make the pen of Sydney Smith do in 
 death what it never did in life inflict undeserved pain 
 on any human being. 
 
 I must add, with respect to the letters collected from 
 various sources, that it is a remarkable fact, as testify 
 ing the estimation in which my father was held by his 
 contemporaries, that there are among them many small 
 notes merely containing some trifling message or an in 
 vitation to dinner; things without the slightest merit 
 or value in themselves, yet carefully folded up, dated, 
 and preserved with the greatest care for years by those 
 who had received them from him. This little trait 
 speaks, I think, volumes. From these letters Mrs. 
 Austin has selected those most calculated to interest 
 the reader, or in any way to illustrate my father s feel 
 ings and character, without special reference to their 
 talent only. 
 
 It will be seen in the narrative, and, in justice to my 
 father, it ought not to be forgotten, that he entered the 
 Church out of consideration for, and in obedience to, 
 the wishes of hip father: mid like his friend, Dr, Stan- 
 
vi PREFACE. 
 
 ley, Bishop of Norwich, with a strong natural bias to 
 ward another profession ; so that, in his passage through 
 life, he had often to exercise control over himself, and 
 to make a struggle to do that which is comparatively 
 easy to those who have embraced their profession from 
 taste and inclination alone. 
 
 But having entered the Church from a sense of duty, 
 I think the narrative will show that he made duty his 
 guide through life ; that he honored his profession, and 
 was honored in it by those who had the best opportuni 
 ties of observing him ; that, ever ready to perform its 
 humblest duties, he gathered (as he says) from the study 
 of the Bible, that the highest duty of a clergyman was 
 to calm religious hatreds, and spread religious peace and 
 toleration ; that in this labor of love he exerted himself 
 from the time of his entering the Church to the hour of 
 his death ; and that he dreaded, as the greatest of all 
 x evils, that the "golden chain," which he describes as 
 "reaching from earth to heaven," should be injured 
 either by fanaticism or skepticism. Thus, lending him 
 self to no extremes and no party in the Church, he en 
 deavored through life to guard religion simple and pure, 
 as we received it from the hand of God, and as it is 
 taught in that Church to which he belonged. 
 
 It now only remains for me to express my thanks to 
 those who have aided my task by their contributions, 
 which I should gladly have done by name, had they not 
 been too numerous. But it has been deeply gratifying 
 to my feelings, and has given me courage to proceed, to 
 find that all my father s oldest friends have been eager 
 to assist me in my task, and have all, with very few 
 exceptions, contributed something toward it. I trust 
 they may not think I have misused their gifts, and, for 
 the sake of the father, will receive with indulgence the 
 efforts of his daughter to do fresh honor to his memory 
 by chronicling his virtues. 
 
PREFACE. vii 
 
 This slight sketch of my father s life has passed 
 through the ordeal of his private friends, and has been 
 pronounced by them to present a faithful picture of his 
 habits and character. The subject of it is of course so 
 deeply interesting to me, that I can form no estimate of 
 what it may be to others ; but I am encouraged by these 
 friends to believe that the life of an honest man honestly 
 told, can never be without some value and interest to 
 every one. In deference therefore to their opinions I 
 now offer this Memoir to the public, with some additions 
 and such corrections as I have been able to make; 
 though I fear there may still remain many errors as to 
 time, inevitable in a narrative written (as this is chiefly) 
 from memory, and with but few data to guide me. 
 
 I do not however, I confess, offer this Memoir to the 
 public without some anxiety ; not from the fear of any 
 honest opposition to my father s opinions, or censure of 
 the imperfect manner in which I may have performed 
 my task : these are of course open to criticism, and are 
 fair and honorable objects of attack. But I am aware 
 how easily the frank and fearless, because innocent, ex 
 pressions of my father s conversation may be misunder 
 stood and misrepresented, or the private feelings of my 
 friends wounded, should there be any one ungenerous 
 enough to do so. I will however trust that, as this 
 Memoir has been written with the most earnest desire 
 to tell the truth, but in doing so to avoid giving just 
 cause of pain to any one, I shall meet with equal deli 
 cacy from the public; and shall find that any angry 
 feelings which the bold, undisguised expression of my 
 father s opinions during life may have formerly excited 
 in the world, have been long since forgotten, or are 
 buried in the grave of him whose loss I (may I not 
 rather say, we all ?) lament. S. H. 
 
 London, May, 1855. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Birth and Family. Father. Profession. Marriage of Father. Moth 
 er. Sir Isaac Newton. School. Early Peculiarities. Talleyrand. 
 College. Goes to Normandy. Profession. Curate on Salisbury 
 Plain. Marries his Brother. Becomes Tutor to Mr. Beach. Goes 
 to Edinburgh Page 13 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Arrives at Edinburgh. State of Society. Manners of Scotch. Anec 
 dote of Mr. Jeffrey. Acquaintance with Mr. Horner. Marriage. 
 Early difficulties and Poverty. Generosity. Birth of Daughter. 
 Introduces Mr. Allen to Lord Holland. Originates Review. State 
 of Society. State of Church. Character of his Writings in Youth. 
 Sketch of Opinions at the Time. Letter by Lord Monteagle. 
 Short Sketch of Articles in Review 23 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Extracts from Lectures. Preface to Sermons. Analysis of Sermons. 
 Sermon for the Blind. Returns to Edinburgh. Takes Pupils. 
 Illness of Daughter. Moral Courage. Studies Medicine and Moral 
 Philosophy 44 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Quits Edinburgh for London. Settles in Doughty Street. Makes Legal 
 and other Friends. Obtains Preachership of Foundling Hospital. 
 
 Refusal of Dr. to enable him to lease a Chapel. Sermon to 
 
 Volunteers. Friendship with Lord Holland. Introduction to Hol 
 land House. Holland House, and Society there. Obtains Preacher- 
 ship of St. John s Chapel, Bedford Square. Gives Lectures at Royal 
 Institution. Descriptions of their Effect. Poverty. Society at his 
 House, and Suppers. Anecdote of Sir J. Mackintosh and Cousin. 
 Elected to the Johnson Literary Club. The King reads his Review, 
 and says he will never be a Bishop. Preaches on Toleration at the 
 Temple Church. Increase of Reputation and Friends. Natural 
 
 Spirits; their Effects. Some Anecdotes 66 
 
 A* 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 1806. Political Changes. Obtains Preferment. 1807. Goes to Sun 
 ning in the Autumn. Writes Peter Plymley. Its Effect. Makes 
 the Acquaintance of Lord Stowell. Pvevisits Edinburgh. Goes to 
 Howick. No House on the Living. Non-residence permitted. The 
 Residence Bill passed. Goes down to see the Living. Difficulties. 
 Returns to London. Publishes Sermons. Removes Family to York 
 shire. Tries to negotiate Exchange of Living. Difficulties of Ex 
 change. Necessity of Building. Settles at Heslington Page 96 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Establishment in Yorkshire. Habits. Mode of Life. Reading. At 
 tention to Children. Power of abstracting Thoughts. Farmer s Din 
 ner. Medical Anecdotes. Experiments. Extracts from Diary. 
 Practical Essays. Metaphysical Essays. Hints for History. Mr. 
 Macaulay s Letter. Sir S. Romilly s Visit. Sermon on his Death. 
 Anecdote of Roasted Quaker. Dining out in the Country. Brother 
 and Sir J. Mackintosh s return from India. Madame De StaeTs Visit 
 to England. Typhus Fever. Verses on Mr. Jeffrey 105 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Builds House. Removes to Foston. Description of Establishment. 
 Visit of Sir James Mackintosh. Becomes a Magistrate. Visit to 
 Newgate with Mrs. Fry, and Sermon. Visit to Sir G. Philips in 
 Immortal. Forms the Acquaintance of the Earl of Carlisle. Death 
 of only Sister. Last Visit from Mr. Horner. Bad Harvest and Fe 
 ver. Exertions among the Poor. Visit from Lord and Lady Hol 
 land. Leaves off Riding. Description of Calamity. Shopping and 
 Anecdotes. Sends Son to School.- Visits Lord Grey, Account of 
 Travels. Visit from Dr. Marcet. Conversation, and Bunch. An 
 ecdote of Lord s Son. Assizes. Hunt s Trial. Danger of 
 
 bad Harvest. Death of Grattan 143 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Legacy. Visit to Edinburgh. Visits London : Popularity there. 
 Letters to Home, and care of Parish. Takes Son to Charterhouse. 
 Visits Mr. Rogers. Appointed Chaplain to High Sheriff. Preaches 
 in Cathedral. Anecdote at Spencer House. Meeting of Clergy, 
 East Riding. His Petition. Speech. Living of Londesborough. 
 Goes to Paris. Letter on receiving Irreligious Book. Death of 
 Father. Description of House by Friend. Love of Chess and Sing 
 ing. Marriage of Youngest Daughter. Becomes Canon of Bris 
 tol. Effect produced at Bristol. History of Apologue, by Mr. Ev 
 erett .173 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Happiness increased by his Promotion. Death of eldest Son. Re 
 moval to Combe Florey. Rebuilding of House. Lord Jeffrey s last 
 Visit. Increased popularity at Bristol. Collects Contributions to 
 Review. French Revolution. Riots at Bristol. Speech on Reform. 
 Letters on Preferment. Appointed Canon of St. Paul s. Death 
 of Sir James Mackintosh in 1832. Marriage of eldest Daughter in 
 1834. Village Anecdotes. Christens Grandchild. Buys House in 
 Charles Street. Rectitude of Stewardship at St. Paul s. Tour to 
 Holland in 1837. Talleyrand. Conversation in London, and Anec 
 dotes. Begins Controversy about Church. Petitions to House of 
 Lords. Inscription for Statue of Lord Grey Page 200 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Visit to Combe Florey. Kindness to Grandchildren. Sudden "Wealth. 
 Recollections of his Parishioners at Foston. Death of Lord Hol 
 land: his Portrait. Letter to Mr. "Webster. Sketch of Revue des 
 Deux Mondes. Letter of Mr. Grenville. Visit from Mr. Moore, 
 and Verses. Bestows the Living of Edmonton on Mr. Tate s Son. 
 Letter to Mrs. Sydney Smith. Address of Parishioners, and An 
 swer. Letter of Mrs. Marcet. Receipt for making every day hap 
 py. Definition of Happiness. Petition to the American Congress 
 in 1843. Effects. Speech from Mr. Ticknor. Letter from Mr. 
 Wainwright. Abuse and Gifts from America. Effect of Preaching 
 in old Age. Letter of Miss Edgeworth. Correspondence with Sir 
 R. Peel. Extract from Journal with Anecdotes 248 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Pamphlet on Ballot. Fragment on Irish Church. Letter from Lord 
 Murray. Lines written on receiving Garden-chair. Lines by Lady 
 Carlisle. Christens child. Sketch of Life and Conversation at 
 Combe Florey. Advice to Parishioners. Conversation. Medicines 
 for the Poor. Saves Servant s Life. Fallacies. Studies. Recipe 
 for Salad. Letter of Marion de Lorme. Imitation of Sir James 
 Mackintosh. Close of the Day 286 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Extract from Lady s Journal. Last Illness. Comes to Town. 
 
 Dr. Chambers called in. Anxiety of Friends for his Recovery. 
 Meeting of Brothers. Living to poor Clergyman. Death of Sydney 
 Smith. Death of his eldest Brother 345 
 
MEMOIR 
 
 or 
 
 THE REY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Birth and Family. Father. Profession. Marriage of Father. Moth 
 er. Sir Isaac Newton. School. Early Peculiarities. Talleyrand. 
 College. Goes to Normandy. Profession. Curate on Salisbury 
 Plain. Marries his Brother. Becomes Tutor to Mr. Beach. Goes 
 
 MY father, the Eev. Sydney Smith, was "born at 
 Woodford, in Essex, 1771, the second of four brothers 
 and one sister, all remarkable for their talents ; the 
 two eldest eminently so. To these talents, as well as 
 to his great animal spirits, he had an hereditary right ; 
 for my grandfather, Mr. Kobert Smith, was a man of 
 singular natural gifts ; very clever, odd by nature, but 
 still more odd by design, loving to astonish, and, fully 
 aware that knowledge is power, he employed the activity 
 of a very sagacious mind, through a long and varied 
 life, in acquiring a minute acquaintance with the history 
 of all he came in contact with. On becoming early his 
 own master, by the death of his father, and possessed 
 of some money, he employed all the early part of life 
 (having first married a very beautiful girl, from whom 
 
14 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 he parted at the church door, leaving her with her 
 mother, Mrs. Oli^i, till his return from America) partly 
 in wandering over the world for many years, and partly 
 Sri .-diminishing his fortune by buying, altering, spoiling, 
 and then selling about nineteen different places in En 
 gland, till, in his old age, he at last settled at Bishop s 
 Lydiard, in Somersetshire, where he died. 
 
 My grandfather was a very handsome and picturesque 
 old man when I knew him, his hair long, thin, and per 
 fectly white. To add to the effect of his appearance 
 and manner, he used to affect the drab-colored dress of 
 a Quaker, with a large flap hat, rather like those of our 
 coal-heavers ; this hat was so extraordinary in form, and 
 had seen so many years service, that when at last he 
 offered its remains to his old factotum Charles, who was 
 digging in his garden, the man, after twisting and twirl 
 ing it round and round for some time, and examining 
 its proportions, returned it to him with a broad grin, 
 saying, "No, thank your honor, it s no iise to I." I 
 remember him sitting in his arm-chair basking in the 
 sun, leaning forward on his crutch-stick, a fine study for 
 Rembrandt, and telling this story of his favorite hat till 
 the tears ran down his cheeks with laughter. 
 
 But though the sons inherited talent from their fa 
 ther, yet all the finer qualities of their mind they derived 
 from their mother, Miss Olier, the youngest daughter of 
 a French emigrant, from Languedoc, who was driven over 
 to England for his religious principles at the Revocation 
 of the Edict of Nantes, and was reduced to great poverty 
 in consequence ; but his eldest daughter, a woman of 
 much sense and energy of character, established a school 
 for young ladies in Bloomsbury Square, which acquired 
 considerable celebrity under her direction, and thus en 
 abled her to contribute to the support of her family. 
 Mv father used to attribute a little of his constitutional 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 15 
 
 gayety to this infusion of French blood. His maternal 
 grandfather, Mr. Olier, could not speak a word of En 
 glish. He married a Miss Barton, who was a collateral 
 descendant of Sir Isaac Newton s, through his mother s 
 second marriage a very distinguished ancestor to pos 
 sess, and one not to be lightly passed over.* 
 
 My grandmother, Mr. Olier s youngest daughter, had 
 (I have been told, for I never saw her) a noble counte 
 nance, which two of her sons inherited, and as noble a 
 mind. To her early care of them, and to the respect 
 with which her virtues and high tone of feeling inspired 
 their young hearts, may be ascribed much that was 
 good and great in their characters. The charm of her 
 mind and manner extended even to her correspondence. 
 I heard a singular proof of this the other day, from a 
 school-fellow of my father s, who said that when he or 
 his younger brother Courtenay received one of her let 
 ters at Winchester, the school-boys would often gather 
 round and beg to hear it read aloud. Her influence, 
 however, did not remain to them very long in after-life. 
 Delicate; with a husband who, though delightful from 
 the charm of his manner to the world, was not very well 
 suited to domestic life, from his wandering habits ; and 
 with the natural anxiety of a mother about four such 
 sons, often left for long periods entirely to her care and 
 guidance, she fell into ill-health while still young and 
 beautiful, and, to the deep regret of all who knew her, 
 died about two years after the marriage of my father. 
 
 This reminds me of an anecdote of Talleyrand, who, 
 
 * At the moment of going to press, I learn from Sir David Brewster 
 (now engaged on a Life of Sir Isaac Newton) that there is an error in 
 the pedigree inserted in my first edition. In deference to his superior 
 knowledge I therefore omit it; but I feel sure he will excuse me for 
 still retaining a tradition so long preserved in our family, till I have 
 had more time than I can command at present to investigate the sub 
 ject. 
 
16 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 when living as an emigrant in this country, was on very 
 intimate terms with her eldest son, Robert, more gener 
 ally known by the name given him by his school-fellows 
 at Eton, of Bobus. The conversation turned on the 
 beauty often transmitted from parents to their children. 
 My uncle, who was singularly handsome (indeed I think 
 I have seldom seen a finer specimen of manly beauty, 
 or a countenance more expressive of the high moral 
 qualities he possessed), perhaps with a little youthful 
 vanity, spoke of the great beauty of his mother, on 
 which Talleyrand, with a shrug and a sly disparaging 
 look at his fine face, as if he saw nothing to admire, ex 
 claimed, "Ah! mon ami, c etait done apparemment mon 
 sieur votre pere qui n etait pas bien." 
 
 The peculiarities and talents of the young Smiths 
 were very early evinced; their mother describes them 
 as neglecting games, seizing every hour of leisure for 
 study, and often lying on the floor, stretched over their 
 books, discussing with loud voice and most vehement 
 gesticulation, every point that arose often subjects 
 above their years and arguing upon them with a 
 warmth and fierceness as if life and death hung upon 
 the issue a most interesting and curious spectacle to a 
 mother justly proud of her boys, and rejoicing in these 
 signs of their future distinction. 
 
 They were like young athletes, constantly trying their 
 intellectual strength against each other; "and the re 
 sult," I have heard my father say, " was to make us the 
 most intolerable and overbearing set of boys that can 
 well be imagined, till later in life we found our level in 
 the world." 
 
 As his sons were so nearly of an age, Mr. Smith 
 deemed it advisable to separate them at school as much 
 as possible, that there might not be too strong rivalry 
 between them. Robert, the eldest, with Cecil, the third 
 
MEMO1K OF THE KEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 17 
 
 son, were therefore sent to Eton, where Robert distin 
 guished himself greatly, and was one of the four boys 
 (he was then only eighteen) who wrote the "Micro 
 cosm ;" Mr. Canning, Mr. Frere, and Mr. John Smith, 
 being the other three. 
 
 From Eton he went to King s College, Cambridge, 
 where (says a sketch of him, written, I believe, by his 
 friend Lord Carlisle, after his death) "he added materi 
 ally to the reputation for scholarship and classical com 
 position which he had established at school ; and if the 
 most fastidious critics of our day would diligently pe 
 ruse the three triposes which he composed in Lucretian 
 rhythm, on the three systems of Plato, Descartes, and 
 Newton, we believe that we should not run the least risk 
 of incurring the charge of exaggeration, in declaring that 
 these compositions in Latin verse have not been excelled 
 since Latin was a living language. Be this said with 
 the peace of Milton and Cowley, with the peace of his 
 fellow-Etonians, Grey and Lord Wellesley." 
 
 My father was sent as early as six years of age to a 
 school at Southampton (kept by the Rev. Mr. Marsh, a 
 scholar of some celebrity), which he always spoke of with 
 pleasure. While there he received much kindness from 
 the family of the present Lady Mildmay, whose friend 
 ship he retained from that time, and who still survives 
 her old friend. From thence he was sent, with his 
 youngest brother, Courtenay, to the foundation at "Win 
 chester a rough apprenticeship to the world for one so 
 young from which Courtenay ran away twice, unable 
 to bear it. My father suffered here many years of mis 
 ery and positive starvation ; there never was enough pro 
 vided, even of the coarsest food, for the whole school, and 
 the little boys were of course left to fare as they could. 
 Even in old age he used to shudder at the recollections 
 of Winchester, and I have heard him speak with horror 
 
18 MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH, 
 
 of the misery of the years he spent there : the whole 
 system was then, my father used to say, one of abuse, 
 neglect, and vice. It has since, I believe, partaken of 
 the general improvement of education. However, in 
 spite of hunger and neglect, he rose in due time to be 
 Captain of the school ; and while there, received, to 
 gether with his brother Courtenay, a most flattering 
 but involuntary compliment from his school-fellows, who 
 signed a round-robin,* "refusing to try for the College 
 prizes if the Smiths were allowed to contend for them 
 any more, as they always gained them." He used to 
 say, "I believe, while a boy at school, I made above ten 
 thousand Latin verses ; and no man in his senses would 
 dream in after-life of ever making another. So much for 
 life and time wasted." 
 
 At school he was not only leader in learning, but in 
 mischief, and w^as discovered inventing a catapult by 
 lamp-light, and commended for his ingenuity by the 
 master, who little dreamed it was intended to capture a 
 neighboring turkey, whose well-filled crop had long at 
 tracted the attention, and awakened the desires of the 
 hungry urchins. He was fond of telling an incident 
 which happened to him when either at Winchester or 
 Oxford, I am not sure which. A friend who was mak 
 ing a tour, wrote in great distress, asking him to lend 
 him five guineas ; he had but four, which he was con 
 veying himself to the post, much lamenting he had not 
 the sum wanted, when he suddenly saw shining on the 
 high-road before him another guinea, and no owner be 
 ing to be found to claim it, he with joy inclosed it in 
 another cover to his friend. 
 
 I have heard my father speak of one of the first things 
 that stimulated him in acquiring knowledge. A man 
 of considerable eminence, whose name I can not recall, 
 
 * To Dr. Warton, then Head Master or Warden of Winchester. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 1 j 
 
 found my father reading Virgil tinder a tree, when all 
 his school-fellows were at play. He took the book out 
 of his hand, looked at it, patted the boy s head, gave 
 him a shilling, and said, " Clever "boy ! clever boy 1 that 
 is the way to conquer the world." This produced a 
 strong impression on the young Sydney. While at 
 Winchester he had been one year Pra3positor of the Col 
 lege, and another, Prsepositor of the Hall. He left Win 
 chester, as Captain, for New College, Oxford, where, as 
 such, he was entitled to a Scholarship, and afterward to 
 a Fellowship. New College was chiefly then renowned 
 for the quantity of port wine consumed by the Fellows ; 
 but the very slender income allowed him by his father, 
 perhaps luckily for his health, did not permit him to in 
 dulge in such habits. As my father was too proud to 
 accept what he could not return, he lived much out of 
 society, and thus lost one of the advantages of College 
 to a poor man that of making private friends. 
 
 Soon after quitting Winchester, and before he became 
 a Fellow of New College, his father sent him to Mont 
 Yilliers, in Normandy, where he remained en pension 
 for six months, to perfect his knowledge of French, 
 which he always after spoke with great fluency. The 
 fierceness of the French Revolution was then at its 
 height, and for his safety it was thought necessary that 
 he should enroll himself in one of the Jacobin Clubs of 
 the town, in which he was entered as " Le Citoyen Smit, 
 Membre Afnlie au Club des Jacobins de Mont Villiers." 
 The only revolutionary peril he encountered, however, 
 was in attending his two friends, Captain Drinkwater 
 and his brother, to Cherbourg. These gentlemen, who 
 were excellent draughtsmen, began sketching the works, 
 in spite of my father s remonstrances, who said, "We 
 shall all be infallibly hung on the next lantern-post, if 
 you are seen ;" and in truth, in a few minutes they had 
 
20 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 a gendarme upon them ; and it required all my fathers 
 skill, address, and knowledge of the language, with a few 
 good-humored jokes, and boasts of his own citizenship, 
 to extricate himself and his friends out of his hands. 
 When clear off "And now, my friends, no more 
 sketching, if you please," said he. 
 
 I know little of his career at College, save that he 
 obtained his Fellowship as soon as it was possible, and 
 from that moment was cast upon his own resources by 
 his father, who never afterward gave him a farthing till 
 his death. Yet with this small income, about 100 per 
 annum, he not only preserved that honesty, so often dis 
 regarded by young men, of keeping out of debt, but 
 undertook to pay a sum of 30 for a debt incurred when 
 at Winchester School by his younger brother Courtenay, 
 who had not had courage to confess it to his father be 
 fore his departure for India. Courtenay became Supreme 
 Judge of the Adawlut Court, subsequently made a very 
 large fortune, acquired great reputation as a Judge and 
 Oriental scholar, returned to this country in his old age, 
 and died suddenly a few years afterward. 
 
 On leaving College it became necessary that my fa 
 ther should select a profession. His own inclinations 
 would have led him to the Bar, in which profession he 
 felt that his talents promised him success and distinc 
 tion, and where a career was open to him that might 
 gratify his ambition. But his father, who had been at 
 considerable expense in bringing up his eldest brother 
 Eobert to that profession, and fitting out the other two 
 for India, after giving up a project he once had of send 
 ing Sydney as supercargo to China, urged so strongly 
 his going into the Church, that my father, after consid 
 ering the subject deeply, felt it his duty to yield to my 
 grandfather s wishes, and sacrifice his own, by entering 
 the Church, and became a curate in a small village in 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 21 
 
 the midst of Salisbury Plain. One of the first profes 
 sional duties he was called upon to perform was to marry 
 his eldest "brother Eobert to Miss Yernon, aunt to the 
 present Lord Lansdowne. In a letter to his mother on 
 the occasion, he says, "The marriage took place in the 
 library at Bowood, and all I can tell you of it is, that 
 he cried, she cried, and I cried;" the only tears, I be 
 lieve, this marriage ever produced, save those we shed 
 on her grave. 
 
 Sydney Smith, a curate in the midst of Salisbury 
 Plain ! To those who knew him, and his cast of char 
 acter, the mere statement of the fact will be enough to 
 paint his feelings ; but to those who knew him not, it 
 would be difficult to express the famine of the mind that 
 came over him when planted in that great .waste of Na 
 ture. He has himself painted a curate as "the poor 
 working-man of God a learned man in a hovel, good 
 and patient a comforter and a teacher the first and 
 purest pauper of the hamlet ; yet showing that, in the 
 midst of worldly misery, he has the heart of a gentle 
 man, the spirit of a Christian, and the kindness of a 
 pastor." 
 
 This picture can hardly be heightened, as descriptive 
 of a curate in the abstract ; but here was a curate 
 formed, by his wit and powers of conversation, for the 
 society of his fellow-creatures, doomed to the most un 
 broken solitude ; and, pauper as he was, with scarcely 
 a hamlet to interest him, for the village consisted but 
 of a few scattered cottages and farms, in the midst of 
 Salisbury Plain. Once a week a butcher s cart came 
 over from Salisbury ; it was then only he could obtain 
 any meat, and he often dined, he said, on a mess of 
 potatoes, sprinkled with a little catchup. Too poor to 
 command books, his only resource was the Squire, dur 
 ing the few months he resided there ; and his only re- 
 
22 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 taxation, not being able to keep a horse, long walks over 
 those interminable plains. 
 
 In one of these walks he narrowly escaped with his 
 life, being overtaken in the midst of the Plain, far from 
 any habitation, by a violent snow-storm ; and, having 
 lost all means of tracing his way, there being no trees 
 or vestige of human habitation for miles round, it was 
 by mere chance that he arrived, late at night, and fear 
 fully exhausted, at his own home. 
 
 The Squire, after the good old orthodox fashion of 
 squires, asked his curate to dinner on Sunday, and, to 
 his surprise, found the tedium of a Sunday evening in 
 the country so much beguiled by the society of his young 
 friend, that the invitations became more and more fre 
 quent. This- acquaintance soon ripened into friendship, 
 and ended by the Squire requesting my father to resign 
 the curacy at the termination of the two years, and ac 
 company his eldest son abroad. Here my father best 
 paints what happened. 
 
 " When first I went into the Church, I had a curacy 
 in the middle of Salisbury Plain ; the parish was Neth- 
 erhaven, near Amesbury. The Squire of the parish, Mr. 
 Beach, took a fancy to me, and after I had served it two 
 years, he engaged me as tutor to his eldest son, and it 
 was arranged that I and his son should proceed to the 
 University of Weimar, in Saxony. We set out ; but 
 before reaching our destination, Germany was disturbed 
 by war, and, in stress of politics, we put into Edinburgh, 
 where I remained five years. The principles of the 
 French Revolution were then fully afloat, and it is im 
 possible to conceive a more violent and agitated state 
 of society." 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 Arrives at Edinburgh. State of Society. Manners of Scotch. Anec 
 dote of Mr. Jeffrey. Acquaintance with Mr. Horner. Marriage. 
 Early difficulties and Poverty. Generosity. Birth of Daughter. 
 Introduces Mr. Allen to Lord Holland. Originates Review. State 
 of Society. State of Church. Character of his Writings in Youth. 
 Sketch of Opinions at the Time. Letter by Lord Monteagle. 
 Short Sketch of Articles in Review. 
 
 IN the year 1797, the period, I "believe, at which my 
 father arrived in Edinburgh with his pupil, Mr. Beach, 
 that city was rich in talent, full of men who have acted 
 important parts while they lived, and many of whom 
 have left names that will live after them : Jeffrey, Hor 
 ner, Playfair, Walter Scott, Dugald Stewart, Brougham, 
 Allen, Brown, Murray, Leydcn, Lord Webb Seymour, 
 Lord Woodhouselee,* Alison, Sir James Hall, and many 
 others. 
 
 Society at that time in Edinburgh was upon the most 
 easy and agreeable footing; the Scotch were neither 
 rich nor ashamed of being poor, and there was not that 
 struggle for display which so much diminishes the charm 
 of London society, and has, with the increase of wealth, 
 now crept into that of Edinburgh. Few days passed 
 without the meeting of some of these friends, either in 
 each other s houses, or (in what was then very com 
 mon) oyster-cellars, where, I am told, the most delight 
 ful little suppers used to be given, in which every sub 
 ject was discussed, with a freedom impossible in larger 
 societies, and with a candor which is only found where 
 men fight for truth and not for victory. 
 
 * Father of the historian Mr. Peter Tytler. 
 
24 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 Into this soil, then, so congenial to his mind and 
 tastes, my father was transplanted ; and, though a per 
 fect stranger, the kindness with which he was received 
 is best shown by the strong attachment he ever retained 
 for his Scotch friends, though far removed from them 
 in after-life, and by the pleasure with which he always 
 looked back to this period, which he often refers to in 
 his letters. In one of them he exclaims, " When shall 
 I see Scotland again ? Never shall I forget the happy 
 days passed there, amidst odious smells, barbarous 
 sounds, bad suppers, excellent hearts, and most en 
 lightened and cultivated understandings!" I believe 
 he kept up, with hardly any exception, the friendships 
 then formed, and I heard an incident yesterday which, 
 trifle as it was, showed such affection for my father s 
 memory that it quite touched me. One evening my fa 
 ther was at his old friend Lord Woodhouselee s coun 
 try-house, near Edinburgh, when a violent storm of 
 wind arose, and shook the windows so as to annoy 
 every body present and prevent conversation. " Why 
 do you not stop them ?" said my father ; " give me a 
 knife, a screw, and a bit of wood, and I will cure it in 
 a moment ;" he soon effected his purpose, fixed up his 
 little bit of wood, and it was christened Sydney s but 
 ton. Fifty years after, one of the family finding Mr. 
 Tytler papering and painting this room, exclaimed, 
 "Oh! Jaines, you are surely not touching Sydney s 
 button ?" but on running to examine the old place at 
 the window, she found Sydney s button was there, pre 
 served and respected amidst all the changes of masters, 
 time, and taste. 
 
 Though truly loving them, his quick sense of the 
 ludicrous made him derive great amusement from the 
 little foibles and peculiarities of the Scotch ; and often 
 has he made them laugh by his descriptions of things 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. iir, 
 
 which struck his English eye. "It requires," he used 
 to saj, " a surgical operation to get a joke well into a 
 Scotch understanding. Their only idea of wit, or rather 
 that inferior variety of this electric talent which prevails 
 occasionally in the North, and which, under the name 
 of WUT, is so infinitely distressing to people of good 
 taste, is laughing immoderately at stated intervals. They 
 are so imbued with metaphysics that they even make 
 love metaphysically ; I overheard a young lady of my 
 acquaintance, at a dance in Edinburgh, exclaim, in a 
 sudden pause of the music, What you say, my Lord, 
 is very true of love in the aibstract, but Here the fid 
 dlers began fiddling furiously, and the rest was lost. 
 No nation has so large a stock of benevolence of heart : 
 if you meet with an accident, half Edinburgh immediate 
 ly flocks to your door to inquire after youx jpure hand or 
 your pure foot, and with a degree of interest that con 
 vinces you their whole hearts are in the inquiry. You 
 find they usually arrange their dishes at dinner by the 
 points of the compass ; Sandy, put the gigot of mutton 
 to the south, and move the singet sheep s head a w r ec bit 
 to the nor wast. If you knock at the door, you hear a 
 shrill female voice from the fifth flat shriek out, "VVha s 
 chapping at the door? which is presently opened by a 
 lassie with short petticoats, bare legs, and thick ankles. 
 My Scotch servants bargained they were not to have salm 
 on more than three times a week, and always pulled off 
 their stockings, in spite of my repeated objurgations, the 
 moment my back was turned." "Their temper stands 
 any thing but an attack on their climate ; even the en 
 lightened mind of Jeffrey can not shake off the illusion 
 that myrtles flourish at Craig Crook. In vain I have 
 represented to him th.it they arc of the genus CdTduus, 
 and pointed out their prickly peculiarities. In vain I 
 have reminded him that I have seen hackney-coaches 
 VOL. L B 
 
26 MEMOIR OF THE BEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 drawn by four horses in the winter, on account of the 
 snow ; that I had rescued a man blown flat against my 
 door by the violence of the winds, and black in the face ; 
 that even the experienced Scotch fowls did not venture 
 to cross the streets, but sidled along, tails aloft, without 
 venturing to encounter the gale. Jeffrey sticks to his 
 myrtle illusions, and treats my attacks with as much 
 contempt as if I had been a wild visionary, who had 
 never breathed his caller air, nor lived and suffered under 
 the rigor of his climate, nor spent five years in discuss 
 ing metaphysics and medicine in that garret of the eartli 
 that knuckle-end of England that land of Calvin, 
 oat-cakes, and sulphur/ 
 
 The reigning bore at this time in Edinburgh was 
 ; his favorite subject, the JN"orth Pole. It mat 
 tered not how far south you began, you found your 
 self transported to the north pole before you could 
 take breath ; no one escaped him. My father declared 
 he should invent a slip button. Jeffrey fled from him 
 as from the plague, when possible ; but one day his 
 arch-tormentor met him in a narrow lane, and began 
 instantly on the north pole. Jeffrey, in despair and 
 out of all patience, darted past him, exclaiming, "D 
 the north pole!"* My father met him shortly after, 
 boiling with indignation at Jeffrey s contempt of the 
 north pole. " Oh, my dear fellow," said my father, 
 never mind ; no one minds what Jeffrey says, you 
 know ; he is a privileged person ; he respects nothing, 
 absolutely nothing. Why, you will scarcely believe it, 
 but it is not more than a week ago that I heard him 
 speak disrespectfully of the equator ! ? 
 
 My father tells of his first acquaintance with Horner, 
 
 * I see this anecdote in Mr. Moore s Memoirs attributed to Leslie, 
 but I have so often heard it told as applying to a very different person, 
 that I think he was mistaken. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 27 
 
 who was at that time among the most conspicuous 
 young men in "that energetic and unfragrant city." 
 "My desire to know him proceeded first of all from 
 being cautioned against him by some excellent and 
 feeble people to whom I brought letters of introduc 
 tion, and who represented him as a person of violent 
 political opinions. I interpreted this to mean a per 
 son who thought for himself, who had firmness enough 
 to take his own line in life, and who loved truth better 
 than he loved Dundas, at that time the tyrant of Scot 
 land. I found my interpretation just, and from then 
 till the period of his death we lived in constant society 
 and friendship with each other." In speaking of him 
 after his death, in a letter to his brother, he says, " Hor- 
 ner loved truth so much that he never could bear any 
 jesting upon important subjects. I remember one even 
 ing the late Lord Dudley and myself pretended to 
 justify the conduct of the Government in stealing the 
 Danish fleet. We carried on the argument with some 
 wickedness against our graver friend ; he could not 
 stand it, but bolted indignantly out of the room. We 
 flung up the sash, and, with a loud peal of laughter, 
 professed ourselves decided Scandinavians ; we offered 
 him not only the ships, but all the shot, powder, 
 cordage, and even the biscuit, if he would come back ; 
 but nothing could turn him ; he went home, and it 
 took us a fortnight of serious behavior before we were 
 forgiven." I wish his pen had left us any account 
 of the other distinguished men whose friendship he 
 obtained in Edinburgh ; but it has left but one other, 
 and that, I believe, was written at a later period of 
 life. 
 
 After two years residence in Edinburgh he returned 
 to England, to marry Miss Pybus, to whom he had 
 long been engaged, and whom he had known from a 
 
28 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 very early period of Iris life, as she was the intimate 
 friend and school-fellow of his only sister, Maria. This 
 marriage took place with the entire consent of her moth 
 er, Mrs. Pybus ; but with so vehement an opposition 
 on the part of her brother, Mr. Charles Pybus (who 
 was a strong politician, and one of the Lords of the 
 Admiralty under Mr. Pitt), as produced a complete 
 breach between them, and deprived them of the assist 
 ance and protection he might have given them on their 
 entrance into life. 
 
 Thus deprived of the only relation capable of afford 
 ing her protection and assistance, it was lucky that Miss 
 Pybus had some fortune, for my father s only contri 
 bution toward their future menage (save his own tal 
 ents and character) w T erc six small silver teaspoons, 
 which, from much wear, had become the ghosts of their 
 former selves. One day, in the madness of his joy, he 
 came running into the room and flung these into her lap, 
 saying, " There, Kate, you lucky girl, I give you all my 
 fortune!" 
 
 Upon this small portion (which my father s first step 
 was to secure in the strictest manner to his wife and 
 children, though Mrs. Pybus, who had perfect confidence 
 in him, had thought it would have been better to leave 
 a portion of it unsettled in case of need), and the six 
 silver spoons, they determined to return to Edinburgh 
 and set up housekeeping. 
 
 " One of our early difficulties," said my mother, "was, 
 how we should buy the necessary plate and linen for 
 our new household; but my dear mother s liberality 
 had furnished me with the means, by bestowing on me, 
 when I entered the world, my sister, Lady Fletcher s, 
 necklace, consisting of a double row of pearls, which 
 were said to be the finest, except Mrs. Hastings , that 
 had been brought to this country. I took them to , 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 29 
 
 and sold them for 500, and all we most wanted was 
 thus obtained. Several years after, when visiting the 
 shop with Miss Fox and Miss Vernon, I saw in one of 
 the glass cases my own necklace, every pearl of which 
 I knew, and had often strung. I had the curiosity 
 to ask the price; Fifteen hundred pounds/ was the 
 answer." 
 
 Mr. Beach presented my father, soon after, with a 
 thousand pounds for his care of his eldest son, which he 
 put into the Stocks, and in which consisted his whole 
 worldly wealth. And here I must introduce a little trait, 
 which, though trifling in itself, yet, considering his cir 
 cumstances, deserves to be mentioned. 
 
 He had made the acquaintance, during his residence 
 in Edinburgh, of a family consisting of a lady (one of 
 the most beautiful specimens of old age I have ever 
 met) and four daughters, who seemed to live for no 
 other object than this mother. He accidentally discov 
 ered that this interesting old lady was suddenly in 
 volved in pecuniary difficulties. Regretting how little 
 he had to offer, he entreated she would not refuse the 
 loan of a hundred pounds out of his little store ; it 
 was accepted with the same kind feeling with which 
 it was offered. I never heard the circumstance till 
 after his death, and I only mention it now because 
 she who received it is no more, and those few who 
 survive her would, I know, gladly contribute any thing 
 that would honor the memory of their old friend. What 
 added to the generosity of this little offering was, that 
 he was then about to become a father, and had but little 
 prospect of increasing his means. 
 
 Another instance of his generosity at that time was 
 in behalf of Mr. Leyden, who, born, a poor shepherd-boy 
 in Teviotdale, had become so remarkable by his learn 
 ing, that an effort was made by subscription to enable 
 
30 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 him to attend the College classes in Edinburgh, where 
 f he made the most astonishing progress in almost every 
 branch of knowledge taught there. Having obtained, 
 through Mr. Dundas, an appointment to India, he was 
 quite unable to accomplish his outfit. Sir Walter Scott 
 and my father, and a few others, were chiefly instru 
 mental in effecting it, the latter contributing 40 out of 
 his very small means. Mr. Lcyden afterward died in 
 India. 
 
 About this period Lord Holland, with whom my fa 
 ther had been slightly acquainted, wrote to ask if lie 
 could recommend any clever young medical man to ac 
 company him to Spain, where he was going. My father 
 had the pleasure of recommending his friend Mr. Allen, 
 whose high character and talents were so valued at Hol 
 land House, that he never after left it, but remained 
 there even after Lord Holland s death, and died loved, 
 honored, and respected by the whole of Lord Holland s 
 family. 
 
 As the time approached for the birth of his child, he 
 constantly expressed his wish, first, that it might be a 
 daughter, and secondly, that she might be born with 
 one eye, that he might never lose her. The daughter 
 came in due time, according to his wish, but, unfortu 
 nately, with two eyes ; however, in spite of this unpro- 
 pitious circumstance, she was very graciously received, 
 and the nurse, to her horror, during five minutes absence, 
 found he had stolen her from the nursery a few hours 
 after she was born, to introduce her in triumph to Jef 
 frey and the future Edinburgh Reviewers. 
 
 Being now in possession of a daughter with two eyes, 
 it became necessary to give her a name ; and nobody 
 would believe the meditations, the consultations, and 
 the discussions he held on this important point. At last 
 he determined to invent one, and Saba was the result. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 31 
 
 About the period in which he was engaged in settling 
 this important domestic point, he was likewise employed 
 in arranging with Messrs. Jeffrey, Brougham, Murray, 
 and his other friends, the preliminaries of that periodical 
 which, under the name of the "Edinburgh Review," 
 has grown into such importance, lias produced such use 
 ful results, and has bestowed on its chief contributors a 
 European reputation. 
 
 lie must state its origin and results: "Toward the 
 end of my residence in Edinburgh, Brougham, Jeffrey, 
 and myself happened to meet in the eighth or ninth 
 story or flat in Buccleugh Place, the then elevated resi 
 dence of Mr. Jeffrey. I proposed that we should set 
 up a Review ; this was acceded to with acclamation ; I 
 was appointed editor, and remained long enough, in 
 Edinburgh to edit the first number of the Review. 
 The motto I proposed for the Review was, Tenui 
 Musam meditamur avcnfi We cultivate literature on 
 a little oat-meal ; but this was too near the truth to be 
 admitted, so we took our present grave motto from 
 Publius Syrus, of whom none of us had, I am sure, 
 read a single line ; and so began what has since turned 
 out to be a very important and able journal. When I 
 left Edinburgh it fell into the stronger hands of Lords 
 
 O O 
 
 Jeffrey and Brougham, and reached the highest point 
 of popularity and success. * 
 
 " To appreciate the value of the Edinburgh Review, 
 
 * A distinguished periodical, speaking of the Edinburgh Review, 
 says : " The world will long look to this as to the opening of an import 
 ant era in English literary history, for then, so to say, was founded 
 an empire of criticism, wider in its objects, more vigorous in its pro 
 visions, more perfect in its administrative machinery, than any of the 
 dynasty which had flourished in the eighteenth century. The cause 
 of tolerance without licentiousness, and philanthropy without cant, was 
 substantially aided by its exertions and the attention they commanded. 
 If the good done thereby should be apportioned out, a large share 
 would fall to the Ilev. Sydney Smith." 
 
32 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 the state of England at the period when that journal 
 began should be had in remembrance. The Catholics 
 were not emancipated. The Corporation and Test Acts 
 were unrepealed. The Game-laws were horribly oppres 
 sive ; steel-traps and spring-guns were set all over the 
 country ; prisoners tried for their lives could have no 
 counsel. Lord Eldon and the Court of Chancery pressed 
 heavily on mankind. Libel was punished by the most 
 cruel and vindictive imprisonments. The principles of 
 political economy were little understood.* The laws of 
 debt and conspiracy were upon the worst footing. The 
 enormous wickedness of the slave-trade was tolerated. 
 A thousand evils were in existence, which the talents 
 of good and able men have since lessened or removed ; 
 and these efforts have been not a little assisted by the 
 honest boldness of the Edinburgh Review." 
 
 To estimate justly my father s moral courage in pro 
 jecting and contributing to such a Review, not only the 
 personal risk to which those who expressed liberal opin 
 ions were exposed (of which nothing gives a more vivid 
 impression than the third volume of Mr. Fox s letters, 
 just published), should be taken into consideration, but 
 his profession, and the corrupt state of that profession 
 at this period. As this is a subject of which 1 am quite 
 incompetent to speak, I shall quote a short passage 
 from a remarkable article on Church Parties in the 
 Edinburgh Review, which gives a very striking descrip 
 tion of it. " The thermometer of the Church of En 
 gland sank to its lowest point in the first thirty years 
 of George III. Unbelieving bishops, and a slothful 
 clergy, had succeeded in driving from the Church the 
 
 * " In a scarcity which occurred little more than twenty years ago ? 
 every judge (except the Chancellor and Sergeant Runnington), when 
 they charged the Grand Jury, attributed the scarcity to the combina 
 tions of the farmers. Such doctrines would not now be tolerated in 
 the mouth of a school-boy." 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 33 
 
 faith and zeal of Methodism which Wesley had organ 
 ized within her pale. The spirit was expelled and the 
 dregs remained. That was the age when jobbery and 
 corruption, long supreme in the State, had triumphed 
 over the virtue of the Church ; when the money-changers 
 not only entered the temple, but drove out the worship 
 ers ; when ecclesiastical revenues were monopolized by 
 wealthy pluralists ; when the name of curate lost its 
 legal meaning, and, instead of denoting the incumbent 
 of a living, came to signify the deputy of an absentee." 
 
 The Dean of St. Paul s and others have spoken of 
 the remarkable increase in vigor of style and boldness 
 of illustration in my father s writings as he advanced 
 in years ; but I have seldom seen it noticed, except in 
 a very clever sketch of him written by some friend soon 
 after his death, that he had no youth in his writings ; 
 no period of those crude, extravagant theoretical opin 
 ions, with which the French Revolution had infected 
 society to a degree of which we can hardly now form 
 any estimate ; though it is alluded to in almost every 
 publication of the times. 
 
 A letter from Mr. Montagu to Mr. Mackintosh, given 
 in the Life of his father Sir James Mackintosh, de 
 scribes this vividly : " At this time, the wild opinions 
 which prevailed at the commencement of the French 
 Revolution misled most of us who were not as wise as 
 your father, and he did not wholly escape their fascina 
 ting influence. The prevalent doctrines were, that man 
 was so benevolent as to wish only the happiness of his 
 fellow-creatures, so intellectual as to be able readily to 
 discover what was best, and so far above the power 
 of temptation as never to be drawn by any allurements 
 from the paths of virtue. Gratitude was said to be a 
 vice, marriage an improper restraint, law an imposition, 
 and lawyers aiders of fraud. It is scarcely possible to 
 
84 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 eonceive the extensive influence which these visions 
 had on society." 
 
 "Yet in the midst of this" (continues the writer to 
 whom I have alluded) " Sydney Smith showed, from 
 the outset, a singular union of courage and good sense, 
 without a tincture of the extravagance by which, in so 
 many young men of ability, they were at that time ac 
 companied. He did not hesitate to embrace and avow 
 a sound principle, however obnoxious ; but neither en 
 thusiasm or party spirit could carry him a hairs-breadth 
 beyond what his judgment approved." 
 
 He seems to have discerned, in the first blush of 
 youth, that true liberty was never in such danger of 
 destruction as when seized by the rude hands of her 
 intemperate and unenlightened worshipers ; and that 
 true religion was never in such peril of being brought 
 into ridicule and contempt, as when disfigured by the 
 indiscreet zeal of ignorance and fanaticism. These con 
 victions will, I think, be seen to pervade all his works, 
 and even his correspondence to have been the great 
 incentives under which he labored to open the eyes of 
 our rulers, under which he endeavored to promote re 
 forms at their legitimate source, and to ward off those 
 horrors which the long neglect of reform had so recently 
 produced in France. Speaking of reforms, in one of his 
 early letters, he says: " What I want to see the State do, 
 is to listen in these sad times to some of its numerous 
 enemies. Why not do something for the Catholics, and 
 scratch them off the list ? then the Dissenters, a mitiga 
 tion of the Game-laws, etc., any thing that would show 
 the Government to the people in some other attitude 
 than that of taxing, punishing, and restraining." It is 
 curious, in going through his writings, to observe that 
 v there is scarcely any one principle he has advocated, 
 with the exception of the payment of the Catholic 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 35 
 
 I 
 
 clergy, that has not been granted "bit by bit ; and, as 
 my father says, after many throes and struggles, and 
 hard-fought battles, that justice has been reluctantly 
 conceded in the midst of fear and degradation, often 
 when it was too late, which, had it been yielded in 
 times of peace and strength, would have prevented 
 many of the miseries the last forty years have witness 
 ed in Ireland, and the many turmoils that have at vari 
 ous times agitated this country, and placed it on the 
 verge of revolution. " In this way peace was conclud 
 ed with America, arid emancipation granted to the Cath 
 olics ; and in this way the war of complexion will be 
 -finished in the West Indies." And again, lie says: 
 " Most of the concessions which have been given to Ire 
 land, have been given in fear. Ireland would have been f 
 lost to this country, if the British Legislature had not, 
 with all the rapidity and precipitation of the truest panic, 
 passed those Acts which Ireland did not ask, but de 
 manded, in the times of her armed association. 7 Yet 
 now those measures are so confirmed by the general 
 sanction of society, that it seems almost trite and com 
 monplace to allude to them. 
 
 I shall leave my father to paint the fate of those who 
 ventured to maintain such opinions at the period ot .^ 
 which I am speaking. 
 
 "From the beginning of the century (about which 
 time the Review began), to the death of Lord Liver 
 pool, was an awful period for those who ventured to 
 maintain liberal opinions ; and who were too honest to 
 sell them for the ermine of the judge, or the lawn of the 
 prelate. A long and hopeless career in your profession, 
 the chuckling grin of noodles, the sarcastic leer of the 
 genuine political rogue ; prebendaries, deans, bishops 
 made over your head ; reverend renegades advanced to 
 the highest dignities of the Church, for helping to rivet 
 
36 MEMOIR OF .THE- -K3S. . SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 the fetters of Catholic and Protestant Dissenters ; and 
 no more chance of a Whig administration than of a 
 thaw in Zembla. These were the penalties exacted for 
 liberality of opinion at that period, and not only was 
 there no pay, but there were many stripes." 
 
 i "It is always considered a piece of impertinence in 
 England if a man of less than two or three thousand a 
 year has any opinions at all on important subjects; 
 and in addition he was sure to be assailed with all the 
 Billingsgate of the French Revolution Jacobin, leveler, 
 atheist, Socinian, incendiary, regicide, were the gentlest 
 appellations used ; and any man who breathed a syl 
 lable against the senseless bigotry of the two Georges, 
 or hinted at the abominable tyranny and persecution ex 
 ercised against Catholic Ireland, was shunned as unfit 
 for the relations of social life. Not a murmur against 
 any abuse was permitted ; to say a word against the 
 suitorcide delays of the Court of Chancery,* or the 
 cruel punishments of the game-laws, or against any 
 abuse which a rich man inflicted and a poor man suf 
 fered, was treason against the/ plousiocracy, and was 
 bitterly and steadily resented. Lord Grey had not then 
 taken off the bearing-rein from the English people, as 
 Sir Francis Head has now done from horses." 
 
 My father speaks of himself as having a passionate 
 ,love of common justice and common sense. He says, 
 
 * He says, on this subject, in his speech on the He form Bill: "Look 
 at the gigantic Brougham, sworn in at twelve, and before six o clock 
 has a bill on the table abolishing the abuses of a court which has been 
 the curse of England for centuries. For twenty-five long years did 
 Lord Eldon sit in the court, surrounded with misery and sorrow, which 
 he never held np a finger to alleviate. The widow and the orphan 
 cried to him as vainly as the town-crier cries when he offers a small 
 reward for a full purse ; the bankrupt of the court became the lunatic 
 of the court ; estates mouldered away and mansions fell down, but the 
 fees came in and all was well ; but in an instant the iron mace of 
 Brougham shivered to atoms this house of fraud and of delay. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 37 
 
 speaking of justice, "Truth is its handmaid, freedom 
 is its child, peace is its companion, safety walks in its 
 steps, victory follows in its train ; it is the brightest 
 emanation from the Gospel, it is the greatest attribute 
 of God. It is that centre round which human motives 
 and passions turn; and justice, sitting on high, sees 
 genius, and power, and wealth, and birth revolving 
 round her throne, and teaches their paths, and marks 
 out their orbits, and warns with a loud voice, and rules 
 with a strong hand, and carries order and discipline 
 into a world which but for her would be a wild waste 
 of passions." 
 
 Entering life then with these feelings, we shall, I 
 think, best find their fruits by following the efforts of 
 his pen through the greater part of his life in the Edin 
 burgh Review. I have been told that I ought to give 
 some analysis of them here ; but they are now before 
 the public in such various forms, are so well known, 
 and, after various trials, I find them so much injured 
 by any attempt to condense them, that I shall make 
 his friend, Lord Monteagle, speak for me (as he states 
 in a few lines what it would have cost me many pages 
 to tell), and shall merely content myself with shortly 
 enumerating what were the subjects that occupied my 
 father s thoughts and employed his pen during so large 
 a portion of his life ; a pen which, I think I may ven 
 ture to assert, was never sullied by private passion or 
 private interest, never degraded by an impure or un 
 worthy motive, and, with all its unexampled powers of 
 sarcasm, never wounding but for the public good. 
 
 Lord Monteagle says: "Looking at all he did, and 
 the way in which he did it, it must be an inexpressible 
 pleasure to all who knew, valued, and loved him, to 
 observe that there was scarcely one question in which 
 the moral, the intellectual, social, or even physical well- 
 
38 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 being of his fellow-men were concerned, to the advance 
 ment of which he has not endeavored to contribute." 
 
 Some of his earliest efforts seem to have been directed 
 to subjects more immediately belonging to his profes 
 sion, such as the use and abuse of the pulpit for polit 
 ical subjects, and the very inefficient state of pulpit elo 
 quence. He touches on clerical reforms ; he endeavors 
 to protect the curates and inferior clergy, and to restrain 
 the increasing power of the bishops, or rather to define 
 those powers by laws, not leaving them dependent on 
 the caprice of individual character or prejudice, as they 
 then were. Toleration, from every motive, private, po 
 litical, and religious, he inculcates on all occasions and 
 in every form ; and, as connected with and mainly de 
 pending on this, no subject more earnestly or frequently 
 occupied his thoughts than the state of Ireland. 
 
 Education, as existing in this country in every class 
 and in both sexes, claimed his attention. The injurious 
 effects of Methodism and fanaticism on true religion in 
 this country ; the infinite importance of correcting vice 
 in such a manner as should not produce hatred to vir 
 tue ; the danger of religious wars, or of the total loss 
 of our Indian possessions from the injudicious attempts 
 at conversion by men totally unfitted for so important a 
 work ; the injuries we were inflicting 011 some of our 
 finest colonies by bad governors and worse laws all 
 these he describes and deprecates. He found in the 
 cell of the lunatic chains, darkness, terror, cruelty, 
 every thing that unrestrained power and human pas 
 sions could add of horror to that heaviest of God s afflic 
 tions, and he brought into public notice the mild and 
 humane treatment of the Quakers and its beneficial 
 effects. He examined the state of our jails ; he read 
 the reports of good and laborious men who had dedi 
 cated much time and attention to the subject, "but men 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 39 
 
 whom the fat and sleek people, tlie enjoy ers, the mump- 
 simus, the well-as-we-are people of the world, "had con 
 trived to keep down and hide from the public eye ; and 
 he endeavored to convince the unsuspecting world that 
 we were paying and nourishing in every county of En 
 gland a public school for the instruction and encourage 
 ment of profligacy and vice : no order, no division, no 
 public eye ; the innocent with the guilty ; youth just 
 tottering on the threshold of sin, living with and learn 
 ing from the most hardened profligates ; punishments 
 inflicted before trial at the caprice of the magistrate or 
 governor ; and many other evils, moral as well as phys 
 ical, winch it only wanted the public eye and public at 
 tention to correct and improve. 
 
 At a time when the greater part of the Bench, as well 
 as the Bar, with some noble exceptions, were opposed 
 strongly to any change in our criminal procedure, he 
 looked with horror at the scenes he witnessed in our 
 courts of law, and the judicial murders that he felt must 
 often occur under such a system ; and he pleaded the 
 cause of the poor unprotected prisoner in language so 
 earnest and so forcible, that it may, I hope, entitle him 
 to share with his great friends, Sir S. Eomilly and Sir 
 J. Mackintosh, the merit of having aided in that great 
 work of mercy they fought for so long and so ably, and 
 the prisoner yet unborn may live to bless their names. 
 
 Though living in the midst of large landed proprie 
 tors, all zealous in the preservation of their game, the 
 cruelty, injustice, and increasing severity of the Game- 
 laws,* and their oppressive arid demoralizing effects on 
 the poor, frequently occupied his attention and excited 
 his most earnest opposition. The perplexing, but, as 
 he says, most trite of subjects, the Poor-laws, occupied 
 
 * In the course of the preceding year no fewer than 12,000 persons 
 were committed for offenses against the Game-laws. 
 
40 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 his thoughts ; though, I fear, with as little result as lias 
 generally been produced by all the thought that has 
 been expended on this most difficult question. 
 
 "Thinking (as he says) the United States the most 
 magnificent picture of human happiness," and feeling 
 the importance of the great political experiments that 
 were going on there, he endeavored to bring forward 
 and attract public attention to both their merits and de 
 fects, urging America not to abuse the advantages she 
 possessed, inciting Europe to profit by the example she 
 set, and concluding by warning her, in a well-known 
 passage, against a taste for military glory. 
 
 These, I think, were among the most important sub 
 jects he treated of; but there were many others of a 
 lighter character, which he handled always with the 
 same objects in view to promote truth and expose evil. 
 He leads us amusingly through the wanderings of Wa- 
 terton ; he unmasks the mischievous sophistry of Ma 
 dame de StaeTs "Delphine;" he shows the compara 
 tively innocuous effects which the plain, unvarnished 
 exposure of vice in "Anastasius" was calculated to 
 produce ; he points out the truth of the social picture 
 given in " Granby ;" he acts as middle-man to Bcn- 
 tham ; he brings out to public notice, from the mass of 
 blue-books under which they were buried, all the cruel 
 ties to which the poor climbing-boys were exposed in 
 sweeping chimneys ; he points out the utility of the 
 Hamiltonian system in diminishing the long and valu 
 able period of time sacrificed in our places of education 
 to acquiring a knowledge of the learned languages. 
 There are some few others which he has not republished, 
 no longer thinking them of any general interest. 
 
 I am anxious, in this sketch, not to be thought to 
 attribute an undue share of influence to my father s 
 efforts for the public good. It is often difficult to say 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 41 
 
 who gave the death-blow to an abuse ; and my father s 
 blows, all will admit, were no light ones where they 
 fell ; yet he was but one of the many wise men Avho 
 have used their talents for the benefit of their fellow- 
 creatures, arid many of them have devoted more time 
 and attention to these objects than my father was eji- 
 abled to do. But I think he has one peculiarity above 
 almost any writer of his day that of attracting public 
 attention ; he was born for a teacher of the people, and, 
 as Lord Ashburton says in his striking address to school 
 masters, "I wish to familiarize to the youngest among 
 you this important truth, that no knowledge, however 
 profound, can constitute a teacher. A teacher must 
 have knowledge, as an orator must have knowledge, as 
 a builder must have materials ; but as, in choosing the 
 builder of my house, I do not select the man who has 
 the most materials in his yard, but I proceed to select 
 him by reference to his skill, ingenuity, and taste ; so 
 also, in testing an orator or a teacher, I satisfy myself 
 that they fulfill the comparatively easy condition of pos 
 sessing sufficient materials of knowledge with which to 
 work; I look then to those high and noble qualities 
 which are the characteristics of their peculiar calling. 
 There were hundreds at Athens who knew more than 
 Demosthenes, many more that knew more at Rome than 
 Cicero, but there was but one Demosthenes and one 
 Cicero." So I think, though there arc hundreds who 
 have known more, labored more, thought more, in En 
 gland, yet in our day there was but one Sydney Smith. 
 He was a sort of rough-rider of a subject ; sometimes 
 originating, but more frequently taking up what others 
 had for years been stating humbly, or timidly, or ob 
 scurely, or lengthily, or imperfectly, or dully, to the 
 world ; extracting at once its essence, unvailing the mo 
 tives of his opponents, and placing his case clearly, con- 
 
42 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 cisely, simply, eloquently, boldly, brightly before the 
 public eye. Tims the subject became read, thought of, 
 discussed, and often acted upon by thousands of per 
 sons, dispersed over various parts of the world. This 
 can not have been without powerful influence on the 
 opinions and conduct of society. 
 
 The peculiar talent possessed by my father is well de 
 scribed in a sketch by a personal friend of considerable 
 talent, printed at the time of his death. 
 
 "In fact, he had read much, and always with the 
 sincerest desire to arrive at truth ; and if he lacked that 
 quality of intellect which is capable of imparting original 
 views on profound subjects, no man was ever more suc 
 cessful in possessing himself of the results of other men s 
 thoughts, and in diffusing them in a form suited to the 
 apprehension of ordinary readers. A distinguished schol 
 ar now living, writing of Sydney Smith to a friend, in 
 1840, observes : Ridicule seems to me to be admirably 
 fitted to confound fools and to destroy their prejudices. 
 It is not needed in order to recommend truth to wise 
 men, and indeed, from its generally dealing in exagger 
 ation and slight misrepresentation, is likely to offend 
 them. It is his mastery of ridicule which renders Syd 
 ney Smith so powerful as a diffuser of ideas, for in order 
 to diffuse widely it is necessary to be able to address 
 fools. His powers as a diffuser, as compared with the 
 powers of a great inventor, who was latterly altogether 
 wanting in the diffusing power, are well shown in his 
 article on Bentham s Book of Fallacies ; indeed, as a 
 diffuser of the good ideas of other men, I do not know 
 whether he ever had an equal. 
 
 "When the imaginative faculty was in question, how 
 ever, Sydney Smith was creative and original enough, 
 God knows. When in good spirits, the exuberance of 
 his fancy showed itself in the most fantastic images and 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 43 
 
 most ingenious absurdities, till his hearers and himself 
 were at times fatigued with the merriment they excited. 
 He had the art, too, of divesting personalities of vul 
 garity, and not unfrequently was the object of his wit 
 seen to enjoy the exercise of it quite as much as others ; 
 in fact, many persons rather lelt it as a compliment 
 when Sydney singled them out for sport." 
 
 In another sketch of my father s writings I have met 
 with this passage, which I think so just that I shall in 
 sert it : 
 
 "Few men could write with his disregard of common 
 forms, and his perfect expression of individual peculiar 
 ities, without falling into coarseness of buffoonery ; the 
 writings of Sydney are free from all vulgarities usual to 
 the familiar writer. The great peculiarity of his works 
 is their singular blending of the beautiful witli the 
 ludicrous, and this is the source of his refinement ; he 
 is keen and personal, almost fierce and merciless, in his 
 attacks on public abuses ; he has no check on his humor 
 from authority or conventional forms, and yet he very 
 rarely violates good taste ; there is much good-humor 
 in him in spite of his severity : it would be difficult to 
 point out the source of this power of fascination, but it 
 strikes us as being different from any thing else we 
 have ever seen." 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 Extracts from Lectures. Preface to Sermons. Analysis of Sermons. 
 Sermon for the Blind. Returns to Edinburgh. Takes Pupils. 
 Illness of Daughter. Moral Courage. Studies Medicine and Moral 
 Philosophy. 
 
 I HATE endeavored in the last chapter (with as little 
 commentary as possible) to give a short sketch of the most 
 important subjects that occupied my father s thoughts, 
 and employed his pen, during twenty-eight years of his 
 life, in the Edinburgh Review. 
 
 But to perform my task properly, I ought perhaps to 
 add some account of the subject-matter of his lectures 
 and sermons. The former of these, if done at all, must 
 be done by an abler pen than mine ; I shall therefore 
 content myself with only two extracts. The first lias 
 often been quoted, not only for its beauty, but as afford 
 ing a specimen of the high moral tone which pervades 
 these lectures ; the second was extracted by one of his 
 earliest college associates (and, I believe, now oldest 
 friend alive), Mr. Duncan, and sent to my mother, as 
 giving what he thought the best description of my fa 
 ther that has ever been written. The first is from the 
 Lecture "On the Conduct of the Understanding;" the 
 second is from that on "Wit and Humor." 
 
 " Therefore, when I say, in conducting the under 
 standing, love knowledge with a great love, with a 
 vehement love, with a love coeval with life, what do I 
 say but love innocence, love virtue, love purity of con 
 duct, love that which, if you are rich and powerful, will 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 45 
 
 sanctify the blind fortune which has made you so, and 
 make men call it justice ? Love that which, if you arc 
 poor, will render your poverty respectable, and make 
 the proudest feel it unjust to laugh at the meanness 
 of your fortunes. Love that which will comfort and 
 adorn you, and never quit you, which will open to you 
 the kingdom of thought, and all the boundless regions 
 of conception, as an asylum against the cruelty, the in 
 justice, and the pain that may be your lot in this out 
 ward world ; that which will make your motives habitu 
 ally great and honorable, and light up in an instant a 
 thousand noble disdains at the very thought of mean 
 ness and of fraud. 
 
 "Therefore, if any young man has embarked his life 
 in the pursuit of knowledge, let him go on without 
 doubting or fearing the event ; let him not be intimi 
 dated by the cheerless beginnings of knowledge, by the 
 darkness from which she springs, by the difficulties 
 which hover around her, by the wretched habitation 
 in which she dwells, by the want and sorrow which 
 sometimes journey in her train. But let him ever fol 
 low her as an angel that guards him, and as the genius 
 of his life. She will bring him out at last into the 
 light of day, and exhibit him to the world, comprehen 
 sive in acquirements, fertile in resources, rich in imagin 
 ation, strong in reasoning, prudent and powerful above 
 his fellows in all the relations and in all the offices of 
 life." 
 
 " The meaning of an extraordinary man is, that he is 
 eight men, not one man ; that he has as much wit as if 
 he had no sense, and as much sense as if he had no wit ; 
 that his conduct is as judicious as if he were the dullest 
 of human beings, and his imagination as brilliant as if 
 he were irretrievably ruined. But when wit is com- 
 
46 MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 bined with sense and information; when it is softened 
 by benevolence and restrained by principle ; when it is 
 in the hands of a man who can use it and despise it ; 
 who can be witty and something more than witty ; who 
 loves honor, justice, decency, good-nature, morality, and 
 religion ten thousand times better than wit, wit is then 
 a beautiful and delightful part of our nature. 
 
 " Genuine and innocent wit like this is surely the 
 flavor of the mind. Man could direct his ways by 
 plain reason, and support his life by tasteless food; but 
 God has given us wit, and flavor, and brightness, and 
 laughter, and perfumes, to enliven the days of men s 
 pilgrimage, and to charm his pained steps over the 
 burning marie." 
 
 The character and design of his Sermons will perhaps 
 be best explained by a short preface he published as 
 early as the year 1801, but never reprinted, explaining 
 his reasons for the course he has taken ; then showing 
 what that course has been, and giving a few extracts 
 from his sermons. 
 
 "He who publishes sermons should explain whether 
 he publishes speeches, or essays, or what it is he does 
 publish ; for metaphysical dissertations, theological po 
 lemics, Scripture criticism, historical disquisition, and 
 moral and religious doctrine, and exhortation, are all 
 included under the appellation of sermons. Now every 
 work should be tried by the intentions with which it 
 was written. A moral sermon, delivered before a mix 
 ed audience of both sexes, would be very bad, if it con 
 tained a profound analysis of human motives and ac 
 tions ; and such an analysis should never be attempted 
 before a mixed audience, because a continued attention 
 to a difficult subject is a very rare quality, which the 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 47 
 
 habits of the mass of mankind can never lead them to 
 acquire. Before such an audience all these sermons 
 were delivered, and whoever does me the honor of judg 
 ing of them at all, will, I hope, do me the justice of 
 judging them witli a relation to this circumstance. 
 
 " The clergy have at all times complained of the 
 decay of piety, in language similar to that which they 
 now hold from the pulpit. The best way of bringing 
 this declamation to proof is to look into the inside of 
 our churches, and to remark how they are attended. 
 In London, I daresay, there arc full seven-tenths of the 
 whole population who hardly ever enter a place of wor 
 ship from one end of the year to the other. At the 
 fashionable end of the town the congregations are al 
 most wholly made up of ladies, and there is an appear 
 ance of listlessncss, indifference, and impatience, very 
 little congenial to our theoretical ideas of a place of wor 
 ship. In the country villages half of the parishioners 
 do not go to church at all, and almost all, with the ex 
 ception of the sick and old, are in a state of wretched 
 ignorance and indifference with regard to all religious 
 opinions whatever. 
 
 "The clergy of a district in the diocese of Lincoln 
 associated lately for the purpose of forming an estimate 
 of the state of religion within their own limits. The 
 amount of the population, where the inquiry was set 
 .-on foot, was 15,042. It was found that the average 
 number of the ordinary congregations was 4933, and 
 of communicants at each sacrament 1808 ; so that not 
 one in three attended divine service, nor one in six of 
 the adults (who amounted to 11,282) partook of the 
 Sacrament. 
 
 "Though other grave and important causes have un 
 questionably contributed very largely to produce this 
 indifference, which is by no means necessarily connect- 
 
48 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 ed with infidelity, still, I am afraid, it must in some 
 little degree be attributed to our form of worship, and 
 to the clergy themselves. 
 
 " That the attention of the greater part of an au 
 dience can be kept up, through many repetitions, in a 
 service that lasts an hour and a half, or an hour and 
 three-quarters, is as much to be wished as it is to be 
 little expected. Piety, stretched beyond a certain point, 
 is the parent of impiety. By attempting to keep up the 
 fervor of devotion for so long a time, we have thinned 
 our churches, and driven away those fluctuating, luke 
 warm Christians who will always outnumber the zealous 
 and devout, and whom it should be our first object to 
 animate, allure, and fix. 
 
 "The English clergy, though upon the whole a very 
 learned, pious, moral, and decent body of men, are not 
 very remarkable for professional activity ; and when 
 they have discharged the formal and exacted duties of 
 religion, are not very forward, by gratuitous inspection 
 and remonstrance, to keep alive and diffuse a due sense 
 of religion in their parishioners. 
 
 "To these causes may be added the low state of pul 
 pit eloquence. 
 
 "Preaching has become a by-word for long and dull 
 conversation of any kind ; and whoever wishes to imply, 
 in any piece of writing, the absence of every thing agree 
 able and inviting, calls it a sermon. 
 
 " One reason for this is the bad choice of subjects for 
 the pulpit. The clergy are allowed about twenty-six 
 hours every year for the instruction of their fellow- 
 creatures ; and I can not help thinking this short time 
 had better be employed on practical subjects, in explain 
 ing and enforcing that conduct which the spirit of 
 Christianity requires, and which mere worldly happiness 
 commonly coincides to recommend. These are the 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEV. SYDNEY SMITH. i j 
 
 topics nearest the heart, which make us more fit for this 
 and a better world, and do all the good that sermons 
 ever will do. Critical explanations of difficult passages 
 of Scripture, dissertations on the doctrinal and mysteri 
 ous points of religion, learned investigations of the mean 
 ing and accomplishment of prophecies, do well for pub 
 lication, but are ungenial to the habits and taste of a 
 general audience. Of the highest importance they arc to 
 those who can defend the faith and study it profoundly ; 
 but, God forbid it should be necessary to be a scholar, or 
 a critic, in order to be a Christian. To the multitude, 
 whether elegant or vulgar, the result only of erudition, cm- 
 ployed for the defense of Christianity, can be of any con 
 sequence : with the erudition itself they can not meddle, 
 and must be fatigued if they are doomed to hear it. In 
 every congregation there are a certain number whom prin 
 ciple, old age, or sickness, has rendered truly devout ; but 
 in preaching, as in every thing else, the greater number of 
 instances constitute the rule, and the lesser the exception. 
 
 " A distinction is set up, with the usual inattention to 
 the meaning of words, between moral and religious sub 
 jects of discourse ; as if every moral subject must not 
 necessarily be a Christian subject. If Christianity con 
 cern itself with our present, as well as our future happi 
 ness, how can any virtue, or the doctrine which incul 
 cates it, be considered as foreign to our sacred religion ? 
 Has our Saviour forbidden justice proscribed mercy, 
 benevolence, and good faith ? or, when we state the more 
 sublime motives for their cultivation, which we derive 
 from revelation, why are we not to display the temporal 
 motives also, and to give solidity to elevation by fixing 
 piety upon interest ? 
 
 " There is a bad taste in the language of sermons 
 evinced by a constant repetition of the same scriptural 
 phrases, which perhaps were used with great judg- 
 . 1 . ( ! 
 
60 MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 merit two hundred years ago, but are now become so 
 trite that they may, without any great detriment, be 
 exchanged for others. Putting off the old man and 
 putting on the new man, The one thing needful, 
 The Lord hath set up his candlestick, The armor 
 of righteousness, etc. etc. etc. etc. The sacred Scrip 
 tures are surely abundant enough to afford us the same 
 idea with some novelty of language : we can never be 
 driven, from the penury of these writings, to wear and 
 fritter their holy language into a perfect cant, which 
 passes through the ear without leaving any impression. 
 "To this cause of the unpopularity of sermons may 
 be added the extremely ungraceful manner in which 
 they are delivered. The English, generally remark 
 able for doing very good things in a very bad manner, 
 seem to have reserved the maturity and plenitude of 
 their awkwardness for the pulpit. A clergyman clings 
 to his velvet cushion with either hand, keeps his eye 
 riveted upon his book, speaks of the ecstasies of joy 
 and fear with a voice and a face which indicate nei 
 ther, and pinions his body and soul into the same atti 
 tude of limb and thought, for fear of being called thea 
 trical and affected. The most intrepid veteran of us 
 all dares no more than wipe his face with his cambric 
 sudarium ; if, by mischance, his hand slip from its or 
 thodox gripe of the velvet, he draws it back as from 
 liquid brimstone, or the caustic iron of the law, and 
 atones for this indecorum by fresh inflexibility and more 
 rigorous sameness. Is it wonder, then, that every semi- 
 delirious sectary who pours forth his animated non 
 sense with the genuine look and voice of passion should 
 gesticulate away the congregation of the most profound 
 and learned divine of the Established Church, and in 
 two Sundays preach him bare to the very sexton? 
 Why are we natural every where but in the pulpit ? 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEV. SYDNEY SMITH. ,31 
 
 No man expresses warm and animated feelings any 
 where else, with his mouth alone, but with his whole 
 body; he articulates with every limb, and talks from 
 head to foot with a thousand voices. Why this.holo- 
 plexia on sacred occasions alone ? Why call in the aid 
 of paralysis to piety ? Is it a rule of oratory to bal 
 ance the style against the subject, and to handle the 
 most sublime truths in the dullest language and the 
 driest manner? Is sin to be taken from men, as Eve 
 was from Adam, by casting them into a deep slumber V 
 Or from what possible perversion of common sense are 
 we all to look like field-preachers in Zembla, holy lumps 
 of ice numbed into quiescence, and stagnation, and 
 mumbling ? 
 
 u It is theatrical to use action, and it is Methodistical 
 to use action. 
 
 "But we have cherished contempt for sectaries, and 
 persevered in dignified tameness so long, that while 
 we are freezing common sense for large salaries in 
 stately churches, amidst whole acres and furlongs of 
 empty pews, the crowd are feasting on ungrammatical 
 fervor and illiterate animation in the crumbling hov 
 els of Methodists. If influence over the imagination 
 can produce these powerful effects ; if this be the chain 
 by which the people are dragged captive at the wheel 
 of enthusiasm, why are we, who are rocked in the cra 
 dle of ancient genius, w T ho hold in one hand the book 
 of the wisdom of God, and in the other grasp that 
 eloquence which ruled the Pagan world, why are we 
 never to rouse, to appeal, to inflame, to break through 
 every barrier, up to the very haunts and chambers of 
 the soul ? If the vilest interest upon earth can daily 
 call forth all the powers of the mind, are we to harangue 
 on public order, and public happiness, to picture a re 
 uniting world, a resurrection of souls, a rekindling of 
 
62 MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 ancient affections, the dying day of heaven and of 
 earth, and to unvail the throne of God, with a wretched 
 apathy which we neither feel nor show in the most 
 trifling concerns of life? This surely can "be neither 
 decency nor piety, Ibut ignorant shame, boyish bash- 
 fulness, luxurious indolence, or any thing but propriety 
 and sense. There is, I grant, something discouraging 
 at present to a man of sense in the sarcastical phrase 
 of popular preacher; but I am not entirely without 
 hope that the time may come when energy in the pulpit 
 will be no longer considered as a mark of superficial 
 understanding ; when animation and affectation will be 
 separated ; when churches will cease (as Swift says) to 
 be public dormitories ; and sleep be no longer looked 
 upon as the most convenient vehicle of good sense. 
 
 "I knoAV well that out often thousand orators by far 
 the greater number must be bad, or none could be good ; 
 but by becoming sensible of the mischief we have done, 
 and are doing, we may all advance a proportional step ; 
 the worst may become what the best are, and the best 
 better. 
 
 " There is always a want of grandeur in attributing 
 great events to little causes ; but this is in some small 
 degree compensated for by truth. I am convinced we 
 should do no great injury to the cause of religion if 
 we remembered the old combination of arce et foci, 
 and kept our churches a little warmer. An experi 
 enced clergyman can pretty well estimate the num 
 ber of his audience by the indications of a sensible 
 thermometer. The same blighting wind chills piety 
 which is fatal to vegetable life ; yet our power of en 
 countering weather varies with the object of our har 
 dihood ; we are very Scythians when pleasure is con 
 cerned, and Sybarites when the bell summons us to 
 church. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 53 
 
 " No reflecting man can ever wisli to adulterate manly 
 piety (the parent of all that is good in the world) with 
 mummery and parade. But we are strange, very 
 strange creatures, and it is "better perhaps not to place 
 too much confidence in our reason alone. If any thing, 
 there is, perhaps, too little pomp and ceremony in our 
 worship, instead of too much. We quarreled with the 
 Roman Catholic church, in a great hurry and a great 
 passion, and furious with spleen ; clothed ourselves with 
 sackcloth, because she was habited in brocade ; rush 
 ing, like children, from one extreme to another, and 
 blind to all medium between complication and barren 
 ness, formality and neglect. I am very glad to find we 
 are calling in more and more the aid of music to our 
 service. In London, where it can be commanded, good 
 music has a prodigious effect in filling a church ; organs 
 have been put up in various churches in the country, 
 and, as I have been informed, with the best possible 
 effect. Of what value, it may be asked, arc auditors who 
 come there from such motives ? But our first business 
 seems to be, to bring them there from any motive which 
 is not undignified and ridiculous, and then to keep them 
 there from a good one : those who come for pleasure may 
 remain for prayer. 
 
 "Pious and worthy clergymen are ever apt to imag 
 ine that mankind are what they ought to be to mistake 
 the duty for the fact to suppose that religion can never 
 weary its votaries that the same novelty and ornament 
 which arc necessary to enforce every temporal doctrine 
 are wholly superfluous in religious admonition ; and that 
 the world at large consider religion as the most important 
 of all concerns, merely because it is so : whereas, if we 
 refer to facts, the very reverse appears to be the case. 
 Every consideration influences the mind in a compound 
 ratio of the importance of the effects which it involves, 
 
54: MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 and their proximity. A man who was sure to die a 
 death of torture in ten years would think more of the 
 most trifling gratification or calamity of the day than of 
 his torn flesh and twisted nerves years hence. If we 
 were to read the gazette of a naval victory from the pul 
 pit, we should be dazzled with the eager eyes of our aud 
 ience they would sit through an earthquake to hear us. 
 The cry of a child, the fall of a "book, the most trifling 
 occurrence is sufficient to dissipate religious thought, 
 and to introduce a more willing train of ideas : a spar 
 row fluttering about the church is an antagonist which 
 the most profound theologian in Europe is wholly unable 
 to overcome. A clergyman has so little previous dispo 
 sition to attention in his favor, that, without the utmost 
 efforts, he can neither excite it or preserve it when ex 
 cited. It is his business to awaken mankind by every 
 means in his power, and to show them their true inter 
 est. If he despise energy of manner and labor of com 
 position, from a conviction, that his audience are willing, 
 and that his subject alone will support him, he will only 
 add lethargy to languor, and confirm the drowsiness of 
 his hearers by becoming a great example of sleep him 
 self. 
 
 " That many greater causes are at work to under 
 mine religion I seriously believe ; but I shall probably 
 be laughed at when I say that warm churches, solemn 
 music, animated preaching upon practical subjects, and 
 a service some little abridged, would be no contemptible 
 seconds to the just, necessary, and innumerable invec 
 tives which have been leveled against Rousseau, Vol 
 taire, D Alembert, and the whole pandemonium of those 
 martyrs to atheism who toiled with such laborious mal 
 ice, and suffered odium with such inflexible profligacy, 
 for the wretchedness and despair of their fellow-creat 
 ures. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 55 
 
 44 1 have merely expressed what appears to me to be 
 the truth in these remarks. I hope I shall not give of 
 fense ; I am sure I do not mean to do it. Some allow 
 ance should be made for the severity of censure when 
 the provident satirist furnishes the raw material for his 
 own art, and commits every fault which he blames." 
 
 Entering on his ministry, then, with these views, we 
 shall, I think, find that my father s religion is tinctured 
 in great measure by his character it has nothing intol 
 erant, repulsive, or morose in his hands. He first seeks 
 to inspire the love of God, by painting the world over 
 flowing with beauties of form, color, sight, taste, smell, 
 feeling ; the mind of man filled with genius, fancy, wit, 
 imagination, eloquence properties and feelings totally 
 unnecessary to the mere bare cold existence that might 
 have been the lot of man, but bestowed upon him in 
 such variety and profusion as almost baffles the com 
 prehension, and shows the boundless love of the Creator 
 in placing such happiness within the reach of his creat 
 ures. 
 
 This feeling is evinced in the following passage, taken 
 from a sermon on " The Immortality of the Soul;" and 
 will be seen to pervade not only his sermons, but his 
 lectures, and even his reviews, wherever the subject ad 
 mits of any allusion to religion. 
 
 He says, speaking of the faculties of animals : " If 
 man, like these, had only talents to gather his support, 
 and defeat the hostile animals which surround him, no 
 hope of immortality could be gathered from a condition 
 like this ; man would be of the earth, earthy ; destined 
 to live in the world with qualities fitted for this world, 
 and to all appearance limited to it. But in speaking of 
 the mind of man, we forget and we pass over all those 
 faculties which arc sufficient for iho preservation of life. 
 
56 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 We do not wonder at man because lie is cunning in pro 
 curing food, but we arc amazed with the variety, the 
 superfluity, the immensity of human talents. We are 
 astonished that he should have found his way over the 
 seas, and numbered the stars, and called by its name 
 every earth, and stone, and plant, and creeping reptile 
 that the Almighty has made. We see him gathered to 
 gether in great cities, guided by laws, disciplined by in 
 struction, softened by fine arts, and sanctified by solemn, 
 worship. We count over the pious spirits of the world, 
 the beautiful writers, the great statesmen, all who have 
 invented subtlely, who have thought deeply, who have 
 executed wisely all these are proofs that we are des 
 tined for a second life ; and it is not possible to believe 
 that this redundant vigor, this lavish and excessive pow 
 er, was given for the mere gathering of meat and drink. 
 If the only object is present existence, such faculties are 
 cruel, are misplaced, are useless. They all show us that 
 there is something great awaiting us that the soul is 
 now young and infantine, springing up into a more per 
 fect life when the body falls into dust." 
 
 On various occasions he dwells on the evidences of 
 the authenticity of the Christian religion. He says : 
 "I have selected this train of reasoning with some care 
 from the best writers in defense of Christianity, because 
 it is always right that a man should be able to render 
 a reason for the faith that is within him." 
 
 In discoursing on these evidences, he enforces them 
 with all the powers with which he was endowed. Hav 
 ing shown the authenticity of the religion he teaches, 
 he proceeds to inculcate in a variety of forms the most 
 important duties that religion enjoined : among these he 
 has dwelt on none more frequently than "the, purity 
 and government of the heart" which, he says, "is 
 God s, and to God it will return;" "it is the ark of 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 5*7 
 
 God." "Is the passport to heaven written any where 
 else than in a pure heart?" He shows how in this 
 respect the Christian differs from all spurious religions, 
 not contenting itself with ceremonies and outward forms, 
 but requiring thought, word, and deed. 
 
 " The beauty of the Christian religion is, that it 
 carries the order and discipline of heaven into our 
 very fancies and conceptions, and, by hallowing the 
 first shadowy notions of our minds from which ac 
 tions spring, makes our actions themselves good and 
 holy." 
 
 Toleration, long-suffering, and charity, he gathers 
 from every page of the Gospel. "The Church," he 
 says, "must be distinguished from religion itself; we 
 might be Christians without any Established Church at 
 all, as some countries of the world are at this day. A 
 church establishment is only an instrument for teaching 
 religion, but an instrument of admirable contrivance 
 and of vast utility. The Church of England is the 
 wisest and most enlightened sect of Christians ; I 
 think so, or I would not belong to it another hour. 
 But is it possible for me to believe that every Christian 
 out of the pale of that Church will be consigned after 
 this life to the never-ending wrath of God ? If I were 
 to preach such doctrines, who would hear me ? Can I 
 paint God as the protector of one Christian creed, dead 
 to all prayers, blind to all woes but ours ? God, whom 
 the Indian Christian, whom the Armenian Christian, 
 whom the Greek Christian, whom the Catholic, whom 
 the Protestant, adore in -a varied manner, in another 
 climate, with a fresh priest and a changed creed. Are 
 you and I to live again, and are these Christians as well 
 as us not to live again ? Foolish, arrogant man has 
 said this, but God has never said this. He. calls for 
 the just in Christ. He tells us that through that name 
 
58 MEMOiK OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 He will reward every good man, and accept every just 
 action ; that if you take up the cross of Christ he will 
 reward you for every kind deed, repay you seven-fold 
 for every example of charity, carefully note and ever 
 lastingly recompense the justice, the honor, the integ 
 rity, the benevolence of your present life. And yet, 
 though God is the God of all Christians, each says to 
 the other, He is not your God, but my God ; not the 
 God of the just in Christ, but the God of Calvin, the 
 God of Luther, or the God of the Papal Crown. 
 
 " The true Christian, amidst all the diversities of 
 opinion, searches for the holy in desire, for the good in 
 counsel, for the just in works ; and he loves the good, 
 under whatever temple, at whatever altar he may find 
 them." 
 
 "If I have read icell iny Gospel, it is in such wise 
 we should imitate the patient forbearance of our com 
 mon Father, who pities the frailties we do not pity, 
 who forgives the error we do not forgive, who maketh 
 His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and send- 
 eth rain on the just and the unjust." 
 
 He insists strongly on the vital importance of the 
 religious education of youth: "When you see a child 
 brought up in the way he should go, you see a good 
 of which you can not measure the quantity, nor per 
 ceive the end ; it may be communicated to the chil 
 dren s children of that child. It may last for centu 
 ries ; it may be communicated to innumerable indi 
 viduals. It may be planting a plant, and sowing a 
 seed, which may fill the land with the glorious increase 
 of righteousness, and bring upon us the blessings of the 
 Almighty." 
 
 He then points out the true pleasures, the use and 
 the abuse of youth ; the preparations for age ; the 
 warnings sent bv a merciful God : the utility of medi- 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 59 
 
 tation on death ; the wortlilessness of this world but 
 as a stepping-stone to a better. And thus, while rais 
 ing the mind from earth to heaven, and urging, as he 
 says, "nothing foolish, nothing romantic, nothing bor 
 dering on ridicule or enthusiasm," he inculcates a recol 
 lection that there arc really and truly things above this 
 world, and coming after this world, and better than this 
 world. He exhorts us to live as others live, and do as 
 others do, but at the same time to live to higher pur 
 poses than others live, and do greater and better actions 
 than others do. He then enters into the detail of those 
 virtues, and the attack of those vices, which the wis 
 dom of God has either commanded or forbidden for the 
 happiness of man. 
 
 This, I believe, will be found to be an accurate 
 analysis of the use he made of his ministry. Few 
 extracts have been made, from the difficulty of selec 
 tion ; but I may venture to say that those who will 
 seek, and select for themselves, will not be unre 
 warded. 
 
 As, however, my opinion can hardly be considered 
 an impartial one, I may be allowed to quote two or 
 three extracts from publications, after his death, in con 
 firmation of it. "In a literary point of view," says 
 one writer, " these sermons stand alone among modern 
 pulpit discourses ; they have not the theological learn 
 ing which distinguishes some, or the mystical eloquence 
 that gives character to the outpourings of the present 
 Bishop of Oxford ; but how full of freshness and life 
 they arc 1 There is nothing of compilation or imitation 
 in them ; the writer has not consulted other divines for 
 topics and ideas, but, selecting his text, he has treat 
 ed it from the stores of his own mind, exhibiting his 
 own view on questions of doctrine, and illustrating mat 
 ters of practice from his own observation and experience 
 
GO MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 of mankind, and it bears the strong impress which vig 
 orous life always imparts/ 
 
 Another says: "Christianity was not a dogma with 
 Sydney Smith, it was a practical and most beneficent 
 creed ; it was the rule of action to his life. The vol 
 ume contains not a thought or opinion at war with Chris 
 tian charity." 
 
 And again, one says: "But how beautiful were the 
 serious moods of Sydney Smith! What a fine fullness 
 and solidity they had; drawn from the strength and 
 justice which we believe to have been the ruling sense 
 of his mind, and tempered with the warmth of charac 
 ter, of which no man had a larger share. What a pic 
 ture is that in one of his sermons where he describes 
 the village school, and the tattered scholars, and the 
 aged, poverty-stricken master, teaching the mechanical 
 art of reading or writing, and thinking he was teaching 
 that alone, while in truth he was protecting life, insur 
 ing property, fencing the altar, guarding the throne, 
 giving space and liberty to all the tine powers of man, 
 and lifting him up to his own place in the order of crea 
 tion !" 
 
 I shall content myself witli but one more extract, 
 from his Charity Sermon in behalf of the Blind, as it 
 was the one which elicited the splendid eulogium from 
 Mr. Dugald Stewart, to which I have alluded elsewhere. 
 
 " The author of the book of Ecclesiastes has told us 
 that the light is sweet, that it is a pleasant thing for 
 the eyes to behold the sun. The sense of sight is in 
 deed the highest bodily privilege, the purest physical 
 pleasure, which man has derived from his Creator. To 
 see that wandering fire, after he has finished his jour 
 ney through the nations, coming back to his eastern 
 heavens, the mountains painted with light, the floating 
 splendor of the sea, the cartli waking from deep slum- 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 61 
 
 Tbcr, the day flowing clown the sides of the hills till it 
 reaches the secret valleys, the little insect recalled to 
 life, the bird trying her wings, man going forth to his 
 labor each created being moving, thinking, acting, 
 contriving, according to the scheme and compass of its 
 nature, by force, by cunning, by reason, by necessity. 
 Is it possible to joy in this animated scene, and feel no 
 pity for the sons of darkness ? for the eyes that will 
 never see light? for the poor clouded in everlasting 
 gloom ? If you ask me why they are miserable and 
 dejected, I turn you to the plentiful valleys ; to the 
 iields now bringing forth their increase ; to the fresh 
 ness and the flowers of the earth ; to the endless variety 
 of its colors ; to the grace, the symmetry, the shape of 
 all it cherishes and all it bears : these you have forgot 
 ten, because you have always enjoyed them ; but these 
 are the means by which God Almighty makes man 
 what he is cheerful, lively, erect, full of enterprise, 
 mutable, glancing from heaven to earth, prone to labor 
 and to act. Why was not the earth left without form 
 and void ? Why was not darkness suffered to remain 
 on the face of the deep ? Why did God place lights in 
 the firmament, for days, for seasons, for signs, and for 
 years? That He might make man the happiest of 
 created beings ; that He might give to this his favorite 
 creation a wider scope, a more permanent duration, a 
 richer diversity of joy. This is the reason why the 
 blind are miserable and dejected because their soul is 
 mutilated, and dismembered of its best sense because 
 they are a laughter and a ruin, and the boys of the 
 streets mock at their stumbling feet. 
 
 " Therefore I implore you, by the Son of David, have 
 mercy on the blind. If there is not pity for all sor 
 rows, turn the full and perfect man to meet the inclem 
 ency of fate; let not those who have never tasted the 
 
62 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 pleasures of existence be assailed by any of its sorrows ; 
 the eyes which are never gladdened by light should 
 never stream with tears. 
 
 " How merciful our blessed Saviour was wont to 
 show himself to their afflictions! Blind Bartimeus sat 
 by the wayside begging ; and as the crowd passed by, 
 he cried with a loud voice, Thou Son of David, have 
 mercy upon me! Jesus stopped the multitude, and 
 before them all restored to him his sight. The first 
 thing that he saw, who never saw before, was the Son 
 of his God ! These blind people, like Bartimeus, will 
 never see, till they behold their Redeemer on the last 
 day : not as He then was, in his earthly shape, but 
 girded by all the host of heaven the Judge of nations, 
 the everlasting Counselor, the Prince of Peace. At 
 that hour this heaven and earth will pass away, and all 
 things melt with fervent heat : but in the wreck of 
 worlds no tittle of mercy shall perish, and the deeds of 
 the just shall be recorded in the mind of God." 
 
 In giving this little sketch of his writings, I have 
 somewhat anticipated in my narrative, and must return 
 to my father s residence in Edinburgh. Mr. Beach had 
 requested him to receive his second son under his charge, 
 and at the same time Mr. Gordon, of Ellon Castle, was 
 intrusted to his care by his guardians. 
 
 For the care of each of these young men, he received 
 / 400, the highest sum which had been then given to 
 any one but Mr. Dugald Stewart. He fully justified 
 the trust reposed in him ; he liA^ed with them as a fa 
 ther and a friend : they are both still alive, and both, I 
 believe, retain warm feelings of love and respect for the 
 memory of their former Mentor ; indeed, one of them 
 always evinced a truly filial affection toward him. 
 
 On one occasion he was much amused by the com- 
 
MEMOIR OE THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 03 
 
 plaints made by liis young friends of the difficulty of 
 finding conversation for their partners in the two balls a 
 week which he allowed them during the season. "Oh," 
 said he, "I ll lit you up in five minutes : I ll write you 
 some conversations, and you will be considered the two 
 most agreeable young men in Edinburgh." Pen arid 
 ink were brought, the conversations numbers one, two, 
 and three written down amidst fits of laughter ; each 
 youth chose his conversation ; and it would be difficult 
 to say who was the most amused, the writer, the 
 speaker, or the hearer, by this novel expedient. 
 
 During his residence in Edinburgh, though without 
 any clerical duties of his own, my father not unfrequent- 
 ly preached in the Episcopal church, then served by 
 Bishop Sanford ; and I believe the earliest of the charity 
 sermons he has preached (of which there arc several 
 very touching ones among those which have been pub 
 lished) was for the Lying-in Hospital. The singular 
 custom which was then always observed, of delivering 
 these sermons at night, seems to have given occasion to 
 a striking passage in it. 
 
 A few months after the birth of his daughter, he went 
 in the summer for a short time to Burnt Island, a small 
 sea-bathing place at no great distance from Edinburgh, 
 for the recovery of my mother s health ; and here, but 
 for his courage and firmness, he would have lost his 
 long-wished-for daughter, in a way he had not at all 
 anticipated. When only six months old she fell ill of 
 the croup, with such fearful violence, that it defied all 
 the remedies employed by the best medical man there. 
 The danger increased with every hour. Dr. Hamilton, 
 then one of the most eminent medical men in Edin 
 burgh, was sent for, could not come, but said, "Per 
 severe in giving two grains of calomel every hour ; I 
 never knew it fail." It was given for eleven hours ; the 
 
64 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 child grew worse and worse ; the medical man in at 
 tendance then said, " I dare give no more ; I can do no 
 more, the child must die, but at this age I would not 
 venture to give more to my own child." "You," said 
 my father, " can do no more ; Hamilton says, Perse 
 vere ; I will take the responsibility, I will give it to her 
 myself." He gave it, and the child was saved. 
 
 Another instance of his moral courage and presence 
 of mind occurred in after-life, when, accidentally in the 
 house of a near relation soon after her confinement, who 
 was suddenly seized by a most alarming attack, her 
 husband from home, a very eminent medical man who 
 attended her absent ; all the others sent to in this mo 
 ment of distress, out also. At last, a young medical 
 man was brought, who declared the danger to be immi 
 nent ; that if the patient were a pauper, he would bleed 
 her instantly, and probably save her life : he feared, 
 however, to interfere in a case attended by so eminent 
 a man, as, if he failed, he should be ruined. My fa 
 ther s medical knowledge confirming this opinion, he 
 determined to take the whole responsibility on himself, 
 and insisted upon its being done before he left the 
 house. Eelief was immediate, and, by the time the 
 husband returned, the patient was safe. 
 
 At the end of the autumn he returned again to Edin 
 burgh for the winter, and his time there was divided 
 between his pupils, the Edinburgh Review (to which he 
 was at that period not only contributor but editor), the 
 enjoyment of the choicest society that was to be found 
 any where out of London, and the study of medicine, 
 anatomy, and moral philosophy. He was a constant 
 attendant on the beautiful lectures of Mr. Dugald Stew 
 art, in the University of Edinburgh, with whom he 
 lived in habits of almost daily communication ; as also 
 with that remarkable man, Dr. Thomas Brown, who 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. Go 
 
 succeeded Mr. Stewart in the Professor s chair of Moral 
 Philosophy, from whom he imbibed a keen love of the 
 subjects connected with that science. Medicine and 
 anatomy had always been favorite pursuits of my fa 
 ther s even when at Oxford, where he bestowed so much 
 attention on the study of the former under Sir Christo 
 pher Pegge, that the Professor much wished him to be 
 come a physician. Feeling now that such knowledge 
 might be of the greatest use in his future destination, 
 the Church, he pursued it with the more ardor, and 
 attended the Clinical Lectures in the hospitals in Edin 
 burgh, given by Dr. Gregory. 
 
 He thus obtained a degree of knowledge that enabled 
 him afterward to be of the greatest service to the poor 
 of his parish, who entirely depended on him for assist 
 ance, and to become the favorite doctor of his own 
 family, who rarely summoned any other medical man 
 to their aid : and I have the authority of my husband, 
 Sir Henry Holland (who had frequent opportunities of 
 observing his practice, and ascertaining his knowledge 
 of medicine), for saying, that both his judgment and 
 knowledge were very remarkable, and used with the 
 same prudence and good sense which he exercised on 
 all other subjects. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Quits Edinburgh for London. Settles in Doughty Street. Makes Legal 
 and other Friends. Obtains Preachership of Foundling Hospital. 
 
 Refusal of Dr. to enable him to lease a Chapel. Sermon to 
 
 Volunteers. Friendship with Lord Holland. Introduction to Hol 
 land House. Holland House, and Society there. Obtains Preacher- 
 ship of St. John s Chapel, Bedford Square. Gives Lectures at Royal 
 Institution. Descriptions of their Effect. Poverty. Society at his 
 House, and Suppers. Anecdote of Sir J. Mackintosh and Cousin. 
 Elected to the Johnson Literary Club. The King reads his Review, 
 and says he will never be a Bishop. Preaches on Toleration at the 
 Temple Church. Increase of Reputation and Friends. Natural 
 Spirits, their Effects. Some Anecdotes. 
 
 IN 1803, the education of Mr. Sydney Smith s pupils 
 being finished, and his income in consequence much re 
 duced, it became necessary for him to resolve upon 
 some course of life which might secure to him a perma 
 nent independence. 
 
 He was most reluctant to quit Edinburgh, where he 
 had many valuable friends and was much sought after ; 
 and where his name would have probably continued to 
 procure him pupils. 
 
 My mother however was more ambitious for him than 
 he was for himself; and feeling that he was meant for 
 better and higher things, and that his talents were worthy 
 of a more extensive sphere, she used all her influence 
 to induce him to seek it where alone it was to be found. 
 After much deliberation he determined to yield to lier 
 wishes, plunge at once into London, and endeavor to 
 make known, where they were most likely to be appre 
 ciated, such talents as he possessed. He therefore 
 broke up his camp in Edinburgh, much to his own and 
 
MEMOIR 01 THE KEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 07 
 
 his friends regret, and established himself in London in 
 the year 1804. 
 
 On his first arrival there, he took a small house in 
 Doughty Street, Russell Square, attracted thither "by 
 the legal society which then resided in that part of 
 London, and of which he was always very fond. 
 
 This resolution to settle in London turned out the 
 wisest he could have taken ; yet, friendless as my fa 
 ther then was, and obnoxious to Government as he had 
 become by his principles and writings, and without any 
 obvious means of increasing his income, it was not car 
 ried through without considerable anxiety and a severe 
 and courageous struggle with poverty; and, to add to 
 his difficulties and anxieties, soon after his arrival in 
 town his family was increased by the birth of his eldest 
 son, Douglas. 
 
 My grandmother, Mrs. Pybus, whose death had taken 
 place shortly before my father quitted Edinburgh, had 
 left my mother her own and her eldest daughter s (Lady 
 Fletcher s) jewels, which were of some value. My moth 
 er, feeling that such ornaments were most unbecoming 
 in her present position, insisted upon their being sold 
 as soon as they came to London, and she describes my 
 father s "comical anxiety lest mankind should recover 
 from their illusion, and cease to value such glittering 
 baubles before they could be sold." The negotiation 
 begun with the jeweler, Sydney was not easy till it 
 was accomplished ; and even then, she says, she does 
 not think he was quite easy in his mind at having helped 
 to continue the illusion by accepting so large a price for 
 them. 
 
 Of the early part of his career in London, I, of course, 
 know nothing, and recollect hearing but little. He early 
 formed the acquaintance, and obtained the friendship of 
 several eminent lawyers then living in that neighbor- 
 
68 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 hood. The most distinguished of these were Sir S. 
 Romilly, Mr. Scarlett (afterward Lord Abinger), and 
 Sir J. Mackintosh. To these may be added Dr. Mar- 
 cet, M. Dumont, Mr. Whishaw, Lord Dudley (then Mr. 
 Ward), Mr. Sharpe, Mr. Rogers, Mr. Luttrell, and Mr. 
 Tenant who, under the most uncouth appearance, com 
 bined such simplicity, warmth of heart, and varied 
 knowledge, as made him a general favorite in the little 
 circle, and the mysteries of whose menage, often afforded 
 amusement to his friends. He lived in a small lodging, 
 and his establishment consisted solely of an old black 
 servant, who tyrannized over him in no small degree, 
 called Dominique. He was overheard one morning call 
 ing from his bed, "Dominique! Dominique!" but no 
 Dominique appeared. "Why don t you bring me my 
 stockings, Dominique?" "Can t come, massa." "Why 
 can t you come, Dominique?" "Can t come, massa, I 
 am dronke." Mr. Tenant, who probably thought it a 
 law of nature that Dominique should be drunk, for he 
 was seldom otherwise, submitted with the greatest 
 meekness. 
 
 My father also became acquainted with some of the 
 French emigrants, of whom there were many at this 
 time resident in London and its neighborhood ; among 
 these, some, from their cultivation and the refinement of 
 their manners, became very agreeable additions to his 
 society. Of these, I remember a M. Dutens,* and a 
 charming old Abbe, who became quite one of the family. 
 I can recall his pale, mild face, his thin figure, smart 
 shoe-buckles, cane, and snuff-box, though I forget his 
 name. He was bent on inventing a universal language j 
 and used, in his simplicity, constantly to come and con 
 sult my father, who, much amused, suggested a few 
 grammatical difficulties from time to time. The poor 
 * Author of "Memoires d un Voyageur qni se repose." 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. G J 
 
 old Abbe, out of all patience, at last exclaimed, " Oil 
 non, monsieur, ce sont la des bagatelles 1 La seule 
 difficulte que je trouve c est de faire agir tons les rois 
 d Europe au memc instant." My father admitted that 
 this was a slight difficulty ; but we left London, or the 
 old Abbe left England, before he had solved it. 
 
 In the summer of 1804 the alarm occasioned by the 
 idea of French invasion was rapidly increasing, and 
 volunteers were pouring in from all ranks and classes. 
 One of the earliest sermons my father seems to have 
 been called upon to preach was on this subject, before 
 a large body of volunteers collected in the Metropolis ; 
 he closes it by saying, " I have a boundless confidence 
 in the English character ; I believe that they have more 
 real religion, more probity, more knowledge, and more 
 genuine worth, than exists in the whole world besides ; 
 they are the guardians of pure Christianity, and from 
 this prostituted nation of merchants (as they are in de 
 rision called) I believe more heroes will spring up in the 
 hour of danger than all the military nations of ancient 
 and modern Europe have ever produced. Into the hands 
 of God, then, and his ever-merciful Son, we cast our 
 selves, and wait in humble patience the result. First 
 we ask for victory; but if that can not be, we have only 
 one other prayer we implore for death." 
 
 A year or two after, he preached another sermon for 
 the suffering Swiss. 
 
 About this time he made the acquaintance of Sir 
 Thomas Barnard, who was so much struck with his 
 sense and originality that he recommended him to the 
 preachcrship of the Foundling Hospital, at 50 per an 
 num, which employment, small as was the remunera 
 tion, was gladly accepted. Slight as this service was, 
 and probably suggested more for the benefit of the Hos 
 pital than for that of my father, I must still feel grate- 
 
70 MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 ful to one who thus held out a helping hand to a clever 
 and friendless young man struggling with the difficulties 
 of the world, and eager to perform the duties of his pro 
 fession ; a kindness which was the more felt from the 
 contrast it afforded to the impediments most unexpect 
 edly thrown in his way about the same time by others. 
 A chapel, then occupied by a sect of Dissenters call 
 ing themselves the Xew Jerusalem, and belonging to 
 
 Mr. D , was most kindly offered by him on lease 
 
 to my father, if he could obtain the necessary license 
 from the rector of the parish. His earnest and touch 
 ing appeal to one he believed to be his friend, to grant 
 this, and thus enable him to support his family and 
 benefit the parish by his exertions in his profession, 
 Avill be seen in the following letters ; and with what 
 result, and for what reasons rejected. I mention no 
 names, as I wish to excite no angry feelings, and both 
 men are now gone to a higher tribunal ; but I can not 
 refrain from stating one of the many difficulties my 
 father had to contend with. 
 
 To Dr. . 
 
 "DEAR SlR, "Loxnox. 
 
 " I am about to address myself to you upon a sub 
 ject which very materially concerns my happiness and 
 interest, and on which therefore I am sure you will 
 consider, with as much disposition to befriend a brother 
 clergyman as you can entertain consistently with your 
 duty. Messrs. - - and Co. have agreed to let me a 
 lease of the chapel in - Street : will you, under any 
 restrictions, andiron any conditions, allow me to preach 
 there f 
 
 4 In the first place, I can not doubt that where a 
 place of worship is to exist in your parish, you would 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 71 
 
 rather that the worship of the Church of England were 
 carried on there, than that it should belong to such 
 sectaries as the Christians of the ISFew Jerusalem (as 
 they entitle themselves). I should have greater reluct 
 ance in making this request if the places of worship in 
 your parish were thinly attended, or if they were more 
 than sufficient for the population of the parish ; but, on 
 the contrary, numbers are sent away every Sunday from 
 your church for want of room. Many families have in 
 vain waited for years to obtain seats there ; and the other 
 chapels-of-ease I understand to be quite filled, though 
 they can not be said to be so overflowing. This chapel 
 does not hold above three hundred and fifty persons, ex 
 clusive of servants; the mere overflowings of your church 
 would fill it. 
 
 " It is, I admit, of great importance for you to con 
 sider whether I am, or arn not, such a person as you 
 would wish to perform the duties of a minister in your 
 parish. This you can easily enough ascertain. I have 
 officiated nearly two years in Berkeley Chapel, where 
 the Primate of Ireland, the Bishop of Lichfield, and 
 Dr. Dutens have seats : of the two former gentlemen I 
 know nothing ; with Dr. Dutens I am w^ell acquainted. 
 If these three dignified and respectable clergymen have 
 any objection to make to my doctrines, I do not wish 
 that the request I make to you should be successful, 
 and I am the first to withdraw it. But if they say of 
 me that my preaching commands attention, that I have 
 any talent for enforcing moral and religious truth, and 
 that I may be beneficially intrusted with such an office 
 in any situation such testimony, I am sure, will have 
 its due weight with you, and if you can let me preach, 
 you will. It has often been said of the proprietors of 
 chapels, that they are rather apt to tell such truths as 
 are pleasant, than such as are useful. I appeal to the 
 
72 MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 same gentlemen, whether the fear of offending any one, 
 let his rank and situation be what it may, has ever pre 
 vented me from enforcing duties on which I thought my 
 self bound to animadvert ; and you will excuse me if I 
 say that you yourself, who have nothing to gain by pleas 
 ing or to lose by offending, have not attacked the vices 
 of the rich and the great with more honest freedom than 
 I have done, though your superior years, station, and 
 understanding have of course enabled you to do it with 
 much greater effect. 
 
 "My pretensions, however, of this nature must of 
 course be judged by others. But of my situation in 
 life (as I am the only judge of it) I hope you will al 
 low me to say a few words. I am a married man, 
 with two children, and as I am young my family may 
 increase ; I have a very small fortune, no preferment, 
 nor any friends who are likely to give me any. The 
 chapel where I preach at present will, I fancy, soon be 
 sold ; and it is not impossible that the clergyman who 
 can afford to purchase it may choose to preach him 
 self. It is not for want of exertion my situation in the 
 Church is not better, for I have not been idle in the 
 narrow and obscure field which is open to the inferior 
 clergy. I hope you will have the kindness to consider 
 these circumstances, before you refuse me the opportu 
 nity of supporting my family and bettering my situation 
 by my own exertions. 
 
 "A few years ago, my dear Sir, when your situation 
 was what mine is, such considerations would have 
 touched you, and you would have acknowledged their 
 force. You know well the difficulties and the mise 
 ries of a curate s life ; and I am sure you are the last 
 man in the world to forget them, merely because you 
 have overcome them with so much honor and distinc 
 tion. I am aware it will be necessary to apply to the 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 73 
 
 patron of the living if your answer should be favorable 
 to me, but I fancy it is regular to make the first appli 
 cation to you ; and I rather write than call upon you, 
 because I think it unfair, on such subjects, to take gen 
 tlemen by surprise, where sufficient leisure ought to be 
 given for deliberation. In a week s time I will call 
 upon you for an answer : if you grant my request, I 
 shall feel very grateful to you. I shall receive your 
 answer with great anxiety, and am, 
 
 "My dear Sir, with great respect, 
 
 "Your obedient servant, 
 
 " SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 From the 11 ev. Sydney Smith to Dr. - . 
 
 "DEAR SlR, 
 
 "If I do not hear from you to the contrary, I will 
 call upon you after morning service on Sunday. I 
 forgot to mention in my letter to you, that Mr. Bar 
 nard* gave me leave to make any use I please of his 
 name in the way of reference. I beg you to recollect 
 that the question before you for your decision, is a choice 
 between fanaticism and the worship of the Church of 
 England in your parish ; one or the other must exist. 
 If I doubted of any of the doctrines of the Church of 
 England, if I were possessed of any foolish and absurd 
 tenets of my own, I should be immediately qualified by 
 law to open the chapel : I hope you will not disqualify 
 me merely because I am a firm and zealous advocate in 
 the same cause with yourself, for this would be to give 
 a bounty on dissent and heresy. It would be a very 
 different question if I asked you to let me open a new 
 place of worship ; but I merely ask you to change that 
 worship from the present method, which you completely 
 * Afterward Sir T. Barnard. 
 
 VOL. L 1) 
 
74 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 disapprove, to that which you. completely approve and 
 eminently practice. 
 
 "Excuse the trouble I give you; but when a poor 
 clergyman sees an honest and respectable method of im 
 proving his situation in life, you can not wonder at his 
 anxiety. You will make me a very happy man, if you 
 consent to my request. 
 
 "With great respect, etc. etc., 
 
 " SYDNEY SMITH/ 
 
 Dr. - s first answer is not given, as Mr. Smith s 
 next letter states its contents. 
 
 From the Hev. Sydney Smith to Dr. - . 
 
 "DEAR SlR, 
 
 " The principal objection which your letter contained 
 against the permission I requested, is the reluctance you 
 state yourself to feel to imposing an obligation on your 
 successors. Would you then object to give me leave to 
 preach during your life, leaving it entirely open, by such 
 limited concession, to those who succeed you, to con 
 tinue or suspend the permission ? Let me place myself 
 entirely out of the question, and put the argument to 
 you : If any new person whom you may allow to preach 
 in your parish, is a man very little calculated for such 
 an office, it is not probable that people will quit the Es 
 tablished places of worship to resort to him ; if he is, it 
 is probable he will draw many to church, who would 
 not otherwise go, and that the mass of people who at 
 tend public worship in that parish will be materially in 
 creased ; which, I presume, is a consequence that every 
 parish minister sincerely wishes for, and would make 
 some effort to obtain. I beg you to reflect, as I said in 
 my last note (which crossed your letter), that I am not 
 
MEMOIii OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 76 
 
 asking you to let me open a place of worship in your 
 parish it is already open but I ask you to let me 
 change the absurd and disgraceful devotion which is go 
 ing on there at present (and will go on there still), for 
 the devotion of the Church of England. I ask you to 
 give me the preference over a low and contemptible fa 
 natic ; and will you allow me, without the slightest in 
 tention of offending you, to lay before you the seeming 
 inconsistency of your answer ? 
 
 "You say, I allow you have considerable talents for 
 preaching, I know you have been well educated, I am 
 sure you will be of great use, but I give a decided pref 
 erence over you to a very foolish and a very ignorant 
 Methodist, whose extravagance is debauching the minds 
 of the lower class of my parishioners, and whom I should 
 be heartily glad to see driven out of my parish. Excuse 
 my freedom, but such are inevitably to be the conse 
 quences deduced from your answer. 
 
 " I appeal to you again, whether any thing can be so 
 enormous and unjust, as that that privilege should be 
 denied to the ministers of the Church of England which 
 every man who has folly and presumption enough to 
 differ from it can immediately enjoy ? I hope you will 
 give these observations some consideration, and, as soon 
 as you have, return me your answer upon them. 
 
 "You observe that what I ask is unnecessary, and 
 that it is an innovation ; but I sincerely hope you would 
 not refuse me so great an advantage, unless it was per 
 nicious as well as unnecessary ; and that if the plan I 
 suggest is an improvement, you will not reject it merely 
 because it is an innovation. 
 
 " I thank you very kindly for all the good you say 
 of me : I will endeavor to deserve it. 
 
 " I am, my dear Sir, truly yours, 
 
 " SYDNEY SMITH." 
 
76 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 From Dr. to the Itev. Sydney Smith. 
 
 "DEAR SlR, 
 
 "I was in hopes I had so expressed myself in my 
 letter of Wednesday, that you would have immediately 
 seen my unwillingness to admit the arrangement you 
 propose respecting this chapel; although at the same 
 time I am sorry to be an obstacle in the way of your 
 interest, I can only add, that the expediency of the 
 measure having been considered by my predecessors, I 
 mean to abide by their decision. I hope never to be of 
 fended, Sir, at the freedom of any who are so kind as to 
 teach me to know myself; and the inconsistency of my 
 letter to you, which you are so good as to point out, is, 
 alas ! an addition to the many inconsistencies of which 
 I fear I have been too often guilty through life. 
 
 "You will, I dare say, be glad to hear that there ex 
 ists a hope that, ere long, the dissenters from the Estab 
 lishment will not enjoy greater privileges than the min 
 isters of the Establishment themselves. 
 
 " I have the honor to be, 
 
 "Dear Sir, 
 "Your obliged servant, 
 
 Thus, in spite of his most earnest endeavors to obtain 
 employment, he remained poor for many years ; indeed 
 it has often been an enigma to me how, in these early 
 days, my father contrived to meet the necessary ex 
 penses of settling in London ; but I have lately discov 
 ered, from an old memorandum, that during this early 
 period his eldest brother Robert kindly contributed 
 100 per annum for a few years ; and that in 1809, 
 when all the expenses of his removal into Yorkshire 
 took place, he lent my father about 500 ; an assist- 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 77 
 
 ancc which must have "been of the greatest importance 
 to him at this particular time. 
 
 I "believe he had not been long in London before he 
 became known, and his society sought after in various 
 quarters. One of the earliest friendships he formed 
 / on coining there was that of Lord Holland, whose ac- 
 j quaintance lie had previously made when on a visit to 
 j his eldest brother Robert, at college ; and the subse 
 quent marriage of this brother with Miss Vernon, Lord 
 Holland s aunt, perhaps the more inclined Lord Hol 
 land to cultivate one with whose merits he was then but 
 slightly acquainted. 
 
 I have often heard my father speak of his first in 
 troduction to Holland House the most formidable or 
 deal, considering the talents of its host and hostess and 
 the society always to be found there, that a young and 
 obscure man could well go through. He was shy too 
 then ; but I believe, in spite of the shyness, they soon 
 discovered and acknowledged his merits, and deemed him 
 no unmeet company for their world and what a world 
 it was ! 
 
 I can hardly write of my father, and not pause a 
 moment to speak of that society of which he afterward 
 so frequently formed a part, and to which he was bound 
 through life by every tic of social enjoyment, gratitude, 
 and friendship. The world has rarely seen, and will rare 
 ly, if ever, see again, all that was to be found within the 
 walls of Holland House. Genius and merit, in whatever 
 rank of life, became a passport there, and all that was 
 choicest and rarest in Europe seemed attracted to that 
 spot as to their natural soil. 
 
 Then the house itself a beautiful specimen of the 
 olden times ; with its ancient banqueting-hall, recalling 
 traditions of past grandeur ; and its noble library, full 
 of the wisdom of ages, and hung round with the por- 
 
78 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 traits of those who so often animated it with their pres 
 ence, ought not to "be forgotten. 
 
 How melancholy to feel that so many of those who, 
 together with their much-loved host, acted so great a part 
 in our own times, and have left names that will live long 
 after them, are now gone I 
 
 My father found in Lord Holland one able and willing 
 to appreciate him, and whose society it was impossible 
 to enjoy without loving as well as admiring him ; and 
 they formed together one of those true friendships, so rare 
 in human life, " which, like the shadows of evening, in 
 crease even till the setting of the sun." I do not of course 
 presume to speak of Lord Holland but in reference to the 
 charm of his intercourse with my father, which I had 
 such frequent opportunities of witnessing ; and it always 
 seemed to me on such occasions that there never were 
 two men who, from the constitution of their minds, were 
 more calculated to enjoy and understand each other s 
 character than Lord Holland and Sydney Smith. The 
 same intense love of public liberty and public happi 
 ness, the same exquisite enjoyment of wit and humor, 
 the same clearness and conciseness of understanding, 
 with great constitutional gayety of spirits, made their 
 conversation more charming to listen to than it is well 
 possible to conceive without having done so, and evi 
 dently productive of the purest enjoyment to themselves. 
 It was short, varied, interspersed with wit, illustration, 
 and anecdote on both sides ; in short, it was the perfec 
 tion of social intercourse, a sort of menial dram-drink- 
 ing^ rare as it was delightful. 
 
 From the opportunities thus afforded my father of 
 meeting at Holland House all the best Whig society, 
 his acquaintance in London increased rapidly ; and as 
 lie became generally known there, his company was ea 
 gerly sought for. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 79 
 
 Meantime his reputation was spreading in other and 
 Letter ways than by the powers of his conversation 
 alone. His negotiation to obtain a license from the 
 clergyman of the parish, to preach in the chapel then 
 occupied by the sect of the New Jerusalem, failed, as 
 we have seen ; but in addition to the evening preacher- 
 ship of the Foundling Hospital, he had for two years, at 
 the request of Mr. Bowerbank, the proprietor of Berke 
 ley Chapel, in John Street, Berkeley Square, officiated 
 as the morning preacher there. The chapel had been 
 so deserted (though the position was very advantageous), 
 that Mr. Bowerbank had been for some time endeavor 
 ing to dispose of it. In a few weeks after my father 
 accepted it, not a seat was to be had: gentlemen and 
 ladies frequently stood in the aisles throughout the 
 whole service. All idea was then given up of disposing 
 of it by the proprietor ; and till my father left London, 
 in 1809, he continued morning preacher there, alter 
 nately with Fitzroy Chapel. The concise, bold raci- 
 ness of his style was singularly calculated to stir up a 
 lazy London congregation, accustomed to slumber over 
 their weekly sermon ; and the earnestness of his man 
 ner, I have reason to believe, caused many to think who 
 never thought before.* Of the effect his preaching pro 
 duced at different periods of his life I have the most 
 nattering evidence. When such a man as Mr. Dugald 
 Stewart exclaimed, after hearing him preach, "Those 
 original and unexpected ideas gave me a thrilling sensa 
 tion of sublimity never before awakened by any other 
 oratory ;" when his virtuous friend Homer expresses 
 his admiration of his eloquence, and of the effect it pro 
 duced on his congregation ; when the Bishop of Nor- 
 
 * My father had the satisfaction more than once of receiving letters 
 of gratitude, assuring him that his preaching had not heen in vain, and 
 had stopped the writer in a course of guilt and dissipation. 
 
80 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 wich writes, on hearing him in the country, "He plainly 
 showed he felt what he said, and meant that others 
 should feel too ;" when another very distinguished writ 
 er, on reading his sermons, says, " I opened on the Ser 
 mon on Toleration, and could not lay it down ; the 
 wisdom, truth, and beauty of it, and the true Christian 
 spirit shining through every sentence, and illumina 
 ting the whole piece as with a celestial light, perfectly 
 enchanted me : as he was one of the wisest of men, 
 so I am sure he was one of the best ;" when one as 
 true as he is distinguished in his profession remind 
 ed me the other day how he had "both seen and heard 
 my father s emotion in the pulpit ; when such testi 
 mony is given Tby such men, united to that of many 
 others which will appear in the course of the narrative, 
 we are surely justified in affirming that, though origin 
 ally entering into the Church reluctantly, yet having 
 done so, he devoted all the powers of his heart and 
 mind to the profession to which he had before devoted 
 his life. 
 
 In addition to his fame as a clergyman, he obtained 
 considerable increase of reputation by a course of lec 
 tures on Moral Philosophy, which Sir Thomas Barnard, 
 who interested himself much about the Eoyal Insti 
 tution, proposed to him to give ; and which, though 
 my father speaks of them as without merit in one of 
 his letters to his friend Dr. Whewell, afford, as I am 
 told, the strongest evidence of the clearness of his in 
 tellect and the justness of his opinions. They gained 
 so much at the time from the charm of his voice and 
 manner of delivery, that the sensation they created in 
 London is perhaps unexampled. 
 
 "You would be amused," says his friend Mr. Hor- 
 ner, in his Letters, "to hear the account he gives of 
 his own qualifications for the task, and his mode of, 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 81 
 
 manufacturing philosophy; he will do the thing very 
 cleverly, I have little doubt."* 
 
 "I was," says Mrs. Marcet, "a perfect enthusiast 
 during the delivery of those lectures. They remain, 
 but he who gave a very soul to them by his inimitable 
 manner is gone! He who at one moment inspired his 
 hearers with such awe and reverence by the solemn piety 
 of his manner, that his discourse seemed converted into 
 a sermon, at others, by the brilliancy of his wit, made 
 us die of laughing. The impression made on me by 
 these lectures, though so long ago, is still sufficiently 
 strong to recall his manner in many of the most striking 
 passages." 
 
 "I was present at the lectures forty years ago," 
 says the late Sir Robert Peel, "and was a very young 
 man at the time ; but I have not forgotten the effect 
 which was given to the speech of Logan, the Indian 
 Chief, by the tone and spirit in which it was recited." 
 . . . "I do not find," he adds, "some verses I recol 
 lect to have been quoted by Mr. Sydney Smith, to which 
 equal effect was given." 
 
 These verses alluded to were a beautiful little song 
 of Mrs. Opie s, "Go, youth beloved, in distant glades:" 
 and she gives an amusing account, in a letter to my 
 mother, of my father suddenly telling her, as she met 
 him at the entrance of the lecture-room, that he was 
 going to quote it. She describes the struggle between 
 her timidity and her vanity, whether she should enter ; 
 
 * An eye-witness says : "All Albcmarle Street, and a part of Graf- 
 ton Street, were rendered impassable by tbe concourse of carriages 
 assembled there during the time of their delivery. There was not suf 
 ficient room for the persons assembling: the lobbies were filled, and 
 the doors into them from the lecture-room were left open; the steps 
 leading into its area were all occupied ; many persons, to obtain seats, 
 came an hour before the time. The next year galleries were erected, 
 which had never before been required, and the success was complete. 
 He continued to lecture there for three consecutive years." 
 
 D* 
 
82 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 and the new light in which both she and her poem 
 seemed to shine in the eyes of her friends, after this 
 notice of its beauty in his lecture. 
 
 Mr. Horner, in his Life, speaks of these Lectures, 
 calling my father by the nom de guerre he had in their 
 circle, of the Bishop of Mickleham the name of his 
 friend Mr. Sharpens cottage in Surrey, where they often 
 assembled. 
 
 " His Lordship s success has been beyond all possible 
 conjecture from six to eight hundred hearers, not a seat 
 to be procured, even if you go there an hour before the 
 time. Nobody else, to be sure, could have executed 
 such an undertaking with the least chance of success. 
 For who could make such a mixture of odd paradox, 
 quaint fun, manly sense, liberal opinions, and striking 
 language ?" 
 
 They have, since my father s death, thanks to my 
 mother (who luckily preserved a considerable portion 
 of them from the flames, to which he had as usual con 
 demned them), been given to the public, which has con 
 firmed this opinion of his friend Horner. Lord Jeffrey, 
 to whom they were submitted in manuscript, had at first 
 dissuaded their publication ; but, on receiving a printed 
 copy, with his usual candor and sweetness of disposi 
 tion, he wrote to my mother, only three days before the 
 fatal illness which terminated his noble life, the follow 
 ing letter : 
 
 "I am now satisfied that, in what I then said, I did 
 great and grievous injustice to the merit of these lec 
 tures, and was quite wrong in dissuading their publi 
 cation, or concluding they would add nothing to the 
 reputation of the author ; on the contrary, my firm im 
 pression is, that, with few exceptions, they will do him 
 as much credit as any thing he ever wrote, and produce 
 on the whole a stronger impression of the force and vi- 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 83 
 
 vacity of his intellect, as well as a truer and more en 
 gaging view of liis character, than most of what the 
 world has yet seen of his writings." 
 
 The following lines have been kindly sent me by Miss 
 Berry s executor, Sir Frankland Lewis, as found among 
 her papers ; and as Miss Berry, from her talents, beauty, 
 high character, her friendship with Horace Walpole, her 
 ninety years of life (thus, as it were, connecting two 
 centuries), and the distinguished society always to be 
 found in her house, almost belongs to history, she gives 
 to these lines a value independent of their intrinsic mer 
 its : 
 
 ODE BY MISS BERRY 
 
 OX BUYIXG A NEW BOXXET TO GO TO ONE OF MR. SYDXEY SMITTl s 
 LECTURES "OX THE SUBLIME." 
 
 Lo ! where the gay ly- vestured throng, 
 
 Fair Learning s train, are seen, 
 Wedged in close ranks her walls along, 
 
 And up her benches green ! 
 Unfolded to their mental eye 
 Thy awful form, Sublimity, 
 The moral teacher shows ; 
 
 Sublimity ! of silence born, 
 
 And solitude, mid "caves forlorn," 
 And dimly vision d woes, 
 Or steadfast worth that, inly great. 
 Mocks the malignity of fate. 
 
 "Whisper d Pleasure s dulcet sound 
 Murmurs the crowded room around, 
 And Wisdom, borne on Fashion s pinion, 
 Exulting hails her new dominion. 
 Oh ! both on me your influence shed ; 
 Dwell in my heart, and deck my head ! 
 
 Where er a broader, browner shade 
 
 The shaggy beaver throws, 
 And with the ample feather s aid, 
 
 O er-canopies the nose ; 
 Where er, with smooth and silken pile, 
 Lingering in solemn pause awhile, 
 
 The crimson velvet slows ; 
 
84 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 From some high bench s giddy brink, 
 With me, my friend begins to think, 
 
 As bolt upright we sit, 
 That dress, like dogs, should have its day, 
 That beavers are too hot for May, 
 
 And velvets quite unfit. 
 Then Taste, in maxims sweet, I draw 
 
 From her unerring lip 
 " How light ! how simple are the straw ! 
 
 How delicate the chip!" 
 
 Hush d is the speaker s powerful voice, 
 
 The audience melt away; 
 I fly to fix my final choice, 
 
 And bless the instructive day. 
 
 The milliner officious pours 
 
 Of hats and caps her ready stores, 
 
 The unbought elegance of spring ; 
 Some, wide, disclose the full round face, 
 Some, shadowy, lend a modest grace, 
 
 And stretch their sheltering wing. 
 Here clustering grapes appear to shed 
 Their luscious juices on the head, 
 
 And cheat the longing eye : 
 So round the Phrygian monarch hung 
 Fair fruits, that from his parched tongue 
 
 Forever seemed to fly. 
 Here early blooms the summer rose, 
 Here ribbons wreathe fantastic bows ; 
 There plays gay plumage of a thousand dyes 
 Visions of beauty, spare my aching eyes ! 
 
 Ye cumbrous fashions, crowd not on my head! 
 
 Mine be the chip of purest white, 
 
 SAvan-like, and as her feathers light 
 When on the still wave spread; 
 
 And let it wear the graceful dress 
 
 Of unadorned simpleness ! 
 
 Ah, frugal wish ! Ah, pleasing thought ! 
 
 Ah, hope indulged in vain ! 
 Of modest fancy cheaply bought, 
 
 A stranger yet to Payne ! 
 With undissembled grief I tell 
 
 (For sorrow never comes too late), 
 The simplest bonnet in Pall Mall 
 
 Is sold for one pound eight. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE HEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 85 
 
 To calculation s sober view, 
 
 That searches every plan, 
 Who keep the old, or buy the new, 
 
 Shall end where they began. 
 Alike the shabby and the gay 
 Must meet the sun s meridian ray, 
 
 The air the dust the damp : 
 This, shall the sudden shower despoil, 
 That, slow decay by gradual soil, 
 
 Those, envious boxes cramp. 
 
 Who will, their squander d gold may pay, 
 
 Who will, our taste deride; 
 We ll scorn the fashion of the day 
 
 With philosophic pride. 
 
 Methinks we thus, in accents low, 
 
 Might Sydney Smith address : 
 " Poor moralist ! and what art tliou, 
 
 Who never spoke of dress ? 
 Thy mental hero never hung 
 Suspended on a tailor s tongue, 
 
 In agonizing doubt! 
 Thy tale no fluttering female show d, 
 Who languish d for the newest mode, 
 
 Yet dares to live Avithout !" 
 
 The proceeds of these lectures for which, after the 
 first series, he was allowed to name his own terms 
 enabled him to furnish his new house in Orchard Street, 
 where he continued to live during the remainder of his 
 residence in London, and where two more children were 
 born to him ; a son who died in infancy, and his young 
 est daughter, Emily. 
 
 In this house, though from the various sources men 
 tioned his means were slightly increased, yet he still 
 remained poor. But it was poverty in its most pleas 
 ing form ; not that struggle with wealth, not that false 
 shame, the outward show, the constant seeming, which 
 we so often witness in the world, and which is the real 
 sting of poverty ; but the poverty of a man of sense who 
 respected himself. 
 
86 MEMOIR OF THE KEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 All was consistent about him : the comfort and hap 
 piness of home he considered the "grammar of life;" 
 and his house, though plain, often in every sense of the 
 word, was all his life the perfection of comfort. Con 
 sidering domestic comfort so important, he thought no 
 trouble too great, no detail too small, to merit his atten 
 tion; and, though brought up in wealth and luxury, 
 affection soon taught his wife to second him. He never 
 affected to be what he was not ; he never concealed the 
 thought, labor, and struggle it often was to him to ob 
 tain the simple comforts of life for those he loved ; as 
 to its luxuries, he exercised the most rigid self-denial. 
 His favorite motto, which through life he inculcated on 
 his family, on such matters was, "Avoid shame, but 
 do not seek glory nothing so expensive as glory ;" 
 and this he applied to every detail of his establish 
 ment. Nothing could be plainer than his table, yet his 
 society often attracted the wealthy to share his single 
 dish. 
 
 But the pleasantest society at his house was to be 
 found in the little suppers which he established once a 
 week ; giving a general invitation to about twenty or 
 thirty persons, who used to come as they pleased ; and 
 occasionally adding to, and varying them by accidental 
 and invited guests. At these suppers there was no at 
 tempt at display, nothing to tempt the palate ; but they 
 were most eagerly sought after ; and were I to begin 
 enumerating the guests usually to be found there, no 
 one would wonder that they were so. There are still a 
 few living who can look back to them, and I have al 
 ways found them do so with a sigh of regret. There 
 was no restraint but that of good taste no formality 
 a happy mixture of men and women the foolish and 
 the wise the grave and the gay and sometimes con 
 versation was varied bv music. I see it stated in the 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 87 
 
 Life of Sir James Mackintosh, that a great part of this 
 choice little society used to meet likewise every week 
 at Sir James s house ; and one present says, " These 
 social meetings left so delightful an impression on the 
 minds of all those who composed them, that many plans 
 were formed, even some years after, to renew them on 
 Sir James s return to England ; but, alas ! no pleasure 
 is renewed." 
 
 To these suppers occasionally came a country cousin 
 of my father s a simple, warm-hearted rustic ; and she 
 used to come up to him and whisper, "Now, Sydney, 
 I know these are all very remarkable men ; do tell me 
 who they are." " Oh, yes," said Sydney, laughing; 
 "that is Hannibal," pointing to Mr. Whishaw ; "he 
 lost his leg in the Carthaginian War ; and that is Soc 
 rates," pointing to Luttrell; "and that is Solon," point 
 ing to Horner "you have heard of Solon?" The girl 
 opened her ears, eyes, and mouth with admiration, half 
 doubting, half believing that Sydney was making fun 
 of her ; but perfectly convinced that if they were not 
 the individuals in question, they were something quite 
 as great. 
 
 It was on occasion of one of these suppers that Sir 
 James Mackintosh happened to bring with him a raw 
 Scotch cousin, an ensign in a Highland regiment. On 
 hearing the name of his host he suddenly turned round, 
 and, nudging Sir James, said in an audible whisper, 
 "Is that the great Sir Sudney?" "Yes, yes," said 
 Sir James, much amused ; and giving my father the 
 hint, on the instant he assumed the military character, 
 performed the part of the hero of Acre to perfection, 
 fought all his battles over again, and showed how he 
 had charged the Turks, to the infinite delight of the 
 young Scotchman, who was quite enchanted with the 
 kindness and condescension of "the great Sir Sudney," 
 
88 MEMOIR OF THE EEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 as lie called him, and to the absolute torture of the 
 other guests, who were bursting with suppressed laugh 
 ter at the scene before them. At last, after an evening 
 of the most inimitable acting on the part both of my 
 father and Sir James, nothing would serve the young 
 Highlander but setting off, at twelve o clock at night, 
 to fetch the piper of his regiment to pipe to " the great 
 Sir Sudney," who said he had never heard the bagpipes , 
 upon which the whole party broke up and dispersed in 
 stantly, for Sir James said his Scotch cousin would 
 infallibly cut his throat if he discovered his mistake. A 
 few days afterward, w T hen Sir James Mackintosh and 
 his Scotch cousin were walking in the streets, they met 
 my father with my mother on his arm. He introduced 
 her as his wife, upon which the Scotch cousin said in a 
 low voice to Sir James, and looking at my mother, "I 
 did na ken the great Sir Sudney was married." "Why, 
 no," said Sir James, a little embarrassed and winking 
 at him, "not ex-act-ly married only an Egyptian slave 
 he brought over with him ; Fatima you know you 
 understand." My mother was long known in the little 
 circle as Fatima. 
 
 By this time many of his Scotch friends had likewise 
 come to England, which offered a wider field for the ex 
 ercise of their talents Horner, Lord Webb Seymour, 
 Mr. Brougham, and others, with whom he lived on terms 
 of the greatest intimacy, and who contributed much to 
 the charm of his little suppers. 
 
 He was very early elected a member of a very agree 
 able dining club, calling itself by the modest title of 
 The King of Clubs, which he often alludes to with 
 pleasure in his letters ; but it was not till the year 
 1838 that he was admitted into that very remarkable 
 literary Club established by Dr. Johnson and his friends, 
 and calling itself The Club, of which Dr. Johnson says, 
 
MEMOIR OF THE EEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 8i> 
 
 "There is no club like our club." On its books may 
 be seen the names, not only of Johnson, Goldsmith, 
 Sir Joshua Reynolds, Burke, Gibbon, etc. ; but a list 
 of all the most eminent men that England has pro 
 duced in every class and rank of society since its foun 
 dation. Mr. Van de Weyer, the Belgian Minister, is, 
 I believe, the only foreigner that has ever been ad 
 mitted since its first establishment ; and, as was ob 
 served to him by a distinguished member of the Club, 
 on being so admitted, he has received the highest title 
 of naturalization that it is in the power of this country 
 to bestow. 
 
 My father was now, with many of his early friends, 
 contributing largely to the Edinburgh Review ; and as 
 his powers and principles became more known, he of 
 course became more and more obnoxious to the party in 
 power, and was the object of much abuse and much mis 
 representation. One of the earliest recollections I have, 
 is that of being stopped at our door, when returning 
 from my walk, by Mr. - , and desired to tell my 
 father that the King had been reading his reviews, and 
 said, " He was a very clever fellow, but that he would 
 never be a bishop." He felt this abuse and misrepre 
 sentation ; and the hopelessness of his situation, where, 
 in his profession, no merit or exertion of his own could 
 advance him a single step, and where his only alterna 
 tive was poverty or baseness ; but he seldom allowed 
 it to depress him ; for he thought, with his sensible 
 friend Sharpe, "if you can not be happy in one way, 
 be happy in another. Many in this world run after 
 felicity like an absent man hunting for his hat, while all 
 the time it is on his head or in his hand." And he used 
 to say, " One must look downward as well as upward in 
 human life. Though many have passed you in the race, 
 there arc many you have left behind. Better a dinner 
 
90 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 of herbs and a pure conscience, than the stalled ox and 
 infamy, is my version." 
 
 An anecdote has lately reached me from a very early 
 friend, which is an epitome of what I have observed of 
 my father through life, and has quite delighted me 
 that having once made up his mind as to what he ought 
 to do, he did it, be the consequences what they might 
 to himself. It was on this principle he entered the 
 Church, on this he acted in it, and on every important 
 occasion of private life. He was going to preach at 
 the Foundling Hospital, and had selected a sermon con 
 taining a strong attack upon opinions which he thought 
 were rapidly increasing, and producing most injurious 
 effects on religion. My mother saw and knew the 
 sermon, and exclaimed, " Oh, Sydney, do change that 
 sermon ; I know it will give such offense to our friends 
 the F s, should they be there this evening." " I fear 
 it will," said my father, "and am sorry for it; but, 
 Kate, do you think, if I feel it my duty to preach 
 such a sermon at all, that I can refrain from doing so 
 from the fear of giving offense?" The sermon was 
 preached, the offense was given, and he felt the loss 
 of his friends deeply, for he loved and valued those he 
 offended. Time however produced its usual effects on 
 really good men : my father lived to regain their friend 
 ship, and I have reason to believe there are few who love 
 or honor his memory more than the only survivor now 
 left. 
 
 In the year 1807 he preached a sermon on Tol 
 eration, in the Temple Church, and was requested 
 to publish it. He did so, and added the following 
 preface : 
 
 "This sermon is not published from a belief that it 
 has any merit in composition, or any claim to originality 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 91 
 
 of thinking, Ibut to bear my share of testimony against a 
 religious clamor, which is very foolish in all those in 
 whom it is not very wicked. 
 
 "I am sorry to write what I know it has been ex 
 tremely disagreeable to many of those before whom I 
 am in the habit of preaching to hear, but I should be 
 infinitely more sorry that this or any other apprehen 
 sion should prevent me from doing what I believe to 
 be my duty. 
 
 " Charity toward those who dissent from us on re 
 ligious opinions is always a proper subject for the pul 
 pit. If such discussions militate against the views of 
 any particular party, the fault is not in him who is 
 thus erroneously said to introduce politics into the 
 Church, but in those who have really brought the 
 Church into politics. It does not cease to be our duty 
 to guard men against religious animosities, because it 
 suits the purpose of others to inflame them ; nor are 
 we to consider the great question of religious tolera 
 tion as a theme fit only for the factions of Parliament, 
 because intolerance has lately been made the road to 
 power. It is no part of the duty of a clergyman to 
 preach upon subjects purely political, but it is not there 
 fore his duty to avoid religious subjects which have been 
 distorted into political subjects, especially when the con 
 sequence of that distortion is a general state of error and 
 of passion." 
 
 Meantime he had the satisfaction of feeling that he 
 was not leading a useless life. He writes : "It pleases 
 me sometimes to think of the very great number of 
 important subjects which have been discussed in the 
 Edinburgh Review in so enlightened a manner ; it is 
 a sort of magazine of liberal sentiments, which I hope 
 will be read by the rising generation, and infuse into 
 
92 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 them a proper contempt for tlieir parents stupid and 
 unphilosophical prejudices." He had also the consola 
 tion, as his character displayed itself, of .obtaining what 
 he said was the one " earthly good worth struggling for, 
 the love and esteem of many good and great men." 
 Among these, the two most intimately associated with 
 his career in after-life were Lord Grey and Lord Carlisle 
 (then Lord Morpeth). To the constant affection and 
 unvarying kindness of Lord Holland and these two 
 friends, he was indebted for most of the pleasures that 
 were shed upon a path which, to any man of less energy 
 of character and buoyancy of spirits, would have been 
 for many years a very dark and dreary one. But there 
 was within himself a natural source of happiness a 
 perpetual flow of spirits a cheerfulness of disposition, 
 for which he often thanked God, as one of the greatest 
 benefits conferred upon him. 
 
 At this period of his life, indeed, his spirits were often 
 such that they were more like the joyousness and play 
 fulness of a clever school-boy than the sobriety and grav 
 ity of the father of a family ; and his gayety was so irre 
 sistible and so infectious, that it carried every thing be 
 fore it. Nothing could withstand the contagion of that 
 ringing, joy-inspiring laugh, which seemed to spring 
 from the fresh, genuine enjoyment he felt at the multi 
 tude of unexpected images which sprang up in his mind, 
 and succeeded each other with a rapidity that hardly al 
 lowed his hearers to follow him, but left them panting 
 and exhausted with laughter, to cry out for mercy. 
 
 An amusing instance of this occurred once, when he 
 met that Queen of Tragedy, Mrs. Siddons, for the first 
 time. She seemed determined to resist him, and pre 
 serve her tragic dignity ; but after a vain struggle 
 yielded to the general infection, and flung herself back 
 in her chair, in such a fearful paroxysm of laughter, and 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 03 
 
 of such long continuance, that it made quite a scene, 
 and all the company were alarmed. 
 
 He contrived to make the most commonplace subjects 
 amusing, and carried every body along with him, in his 
 wildest flights of drollery. One evening, the subject of 
 conversation was the meteorological turn of mind of the 
 English nation. "What would become of us had it 
 pleased Providence to make the weather unchangeable ? 
 Think of the state of destitution of the morning callers. 
 Now, I will give you a specimen of their conversation : 
 Mrs. Jackson and Mrs. Jones, two respectable ancient 
 females, shall be calling upon Mrs. Green, and Mrs. 
 Brown shall join their party, and return by moonlight ; 
 Mrs. Brown shall catch cold and expire in the arms of 
 her friend, calling for peppermint water, and exclaiming, 
 4 The moon! the moon! " And taking up his pen, 
 partly from the comical delight he had in what he was 
 doing, partly from the exquisite commonplaces he strung- 
 together, and the faithful picture he drew of a morning 
 visit in England, he kept us all in such roars of laugh 
 ter, and he laughed so heartily himself as he wrote, that 
 we all went quite exhausted to bed ; the very recollec 
 tion of that scene, even at this distance of time, makes 
 
 me laugh again as I write. 
 
 Another clay he came home, with two hackney-coach 
 loads of pictures, which he had met with at an auction ; 
 having found it impossible to resist so many yards of 
 brown-looking figures and faded landscapes going "for 
 absolutely nothing unheard of sacrifices." Kate hard 
 ly knew whether to laugh or to cry, when she saw these 
 horribly dingy objects enter her pretty little drawing- 
 room, and looked at him as if she thought him half mad; 
 and half mad he was, but with delight at his purchase. 
 He kept walking up and down the room, waving his 
 arms, putting them in fresh lights, declaring they were 
 
94 MEMOIR OF THE EEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 exquisite specimens of art, and, if not by the very best 
 masters, merited to be so. 
 
 He invited all his friends, displayed them at his sup 
 pers, insisted upon their being looked at and admired in 
 every point of view, discovered fresh beauties for each 
 new comer ; and, for three or four days, under the magic 
 influence of his wit and imagination, these gloomy old 
 pictures were a perpetual source of amusement and fun. 
 
 At last, finding he was considered no authority in the 
 fine arts, and that his pictures made no progress in pub 
 lic opinion, off they went, to my mother s great relief, as 
 suddenly as they came, to another auction ; but all re- 
 christened first by himself, amidst his laughing friends, 
 with names never before heard of. One, I remember, 
 was "a beautiful landscape, by Nicholas de Falda, a 
 pupil of Valdeggio, the only painting by that eminent 
 artist." The pictures sold, I believe, for rather less than 
 he gave for them under their original names, which were 
 probably as real as their assumed ones. 
 
 On another occasion he took it into his head to make 
 a crusade against an unfortunate Mrs. Dumplin, who 
 was filled with the ambition of giving a rout. He found 
 every body going away from his house, and all to Mrs. 
 Dumplin s rout ; upon which he reasoned, he laughed, 
 he persuaded, he quizzed, he entreated, he painted and 
 described in such glowing colors the horrors of a Dum 
 plin rout the heat, the crowd, the bad lemonade, the 
 ignominy of appearing next day in the "Morning Post 
 that at last, with one accord, all turned back, finding- 
 it impossible to leave him. He shouted victory, and 
 Mrs. Dumplin was heard of no more. Yet in the midst 
 of all this wild mirth and genuine enjoyment of youth 
 and health, a pretty domestic trait occurs to my mind, 
 which, from such a man, then the idol of the London 
 world, deserves to be told. One of his little children, 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. -J5 
 
 then in delicate health, had for some time been in the 
 habit of waking suddenly every evening; sobbing, an 
 ticipating the death of parents, and all the sorrows of 
 life, almost before life had begun. He could not bear 
 this unnatural union of childhood and sorrow, and for a 
 long period, I have heard my mother say, each evening- 
 found him, at the waking of his child, with a toy, a pic 
 ture-book, a bunch of grapes, or a joyous tale, mixed 
 with a little strengthening advice and the tenderest ca 
 resses, till the habit was broken, and the child woke to 
 joy and not to sorrow. 
 
 These are some of the little nothings which he had 
 the art to turn into somethings, but which, I fear, re 
 sume their original insignificance under my pen ; for I 
 feel it impossible to give to them the life and raciness 
 they had in reality, and which constituted their chief 
 charm. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 1806. Political Changes. Obtains Preferment. 1807. Goes to Sun 
 ning in the Autumn. Writes Peter Plymley. Its Effect. Makes 
 the Acquaintance of Lord Stowell. Revisits Edinburgh. Goes to 
 Hovvick. No House on the Living. Non-residence permitted. 
 The Residence Bill passed. Goes down to see the Living. Diffi 
 culties. Returns to London. Publishes Sermons. Removes Family 
 to Yorkshire. Tries to negotiate Exchange of Living. Difficulties 
 of Exchange. Necessity of Building. Settles at Heslington. 
 
 IN 1806 those political changes took place which so 
 unexpectedly, and for so short a period, brought the 
 Whigs into power. 
 
 To one who, as he says, "had lived so long on the 
 north side of the wall, this ray of sunshine was very 
 cheering, and gave some hopes that he who had so well 
 and so honestly fought the good fight, would now have 
 some opportunity afforded him of exerting himself in 
 his profession." But as he had no connections and 
 little political interest, I do not know what might have 
 Tbeeri the result, had it not "been for the indefatigable 
 exertions of his friends at Holland House, who never 
 rested till they saw justice done to him, and had ob 
 tained from the Chancellor, Lord Erskine, the living of 
 Foston-le-Clay, in Yorkshire, for him. 
 
 For this he always felt that he owed Lord and Lady 
 Holland a deep debt of gratitude ; as, in addition to the 
 immediate increase of his income, being a permanent 
 provision, it gave him the first feeling of independence 
 and security that he had enjoyed after a life of anxiety 
 and uncertainty. An old friend of my father s told me 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. <>7 
 
 the other day, "I was present at Bishopthorpe when 
 your father first came down to be inducted to the living 
 of Foston (now nearly fifty years ago), under the reign 
 of old Archbishop Markham; I was then so young as 
 to be placed at the side-table in that large dining-room ; 
 but I well remember the unwonted animation and the 
 brilliant conversation that constantly attracted all our 
 attention to the great table, and which we were told 
 proceeded from a young clergyman of the name of Syd 
 ney Smith, just come down to take possession of a 
 living in Yorkshire. When he went away, the old 
 Archbishop, I could see, though struck with his extraor 
 dinary abilities, did not half like, or understand, how 
 one of the inferior clergy should be so much in posses 
 sion of his faculties in the presence of his diocesan. On 
 my return home the next day I found my family in a 
 state of great excitement. They had just, they said, 
 had a long visit from the most delightful person they 
 had ever met, a Mr. S. Smith, who had brought letters 
 of introduction from Lord Abinger, then Mr. Scarlett, 
 saying that the bearer was one of the most distinguished 
 young men then in London, and congratulating my 
 mother on the probability of having such a man estab 
 lished in her neighborhood a piece of good fortune 
 which, when it did happen shortly after, she fully ap 
 preciated, and was not inclined to neglect. From this 
 time we saw more and more of him ; and though I have 
 enjoyed now all that is best in life, I think if 1 were to 
 select the day of my life that has left the most agreeable 
 impression on my mind, it would be a long summer 
 afternoon we all spent with your father at Heslington. 
 We walked over with Lord - - and several of the 
 lawyers of the Northern Circuit, and found a Mrs. 
 Hamilton in the house, who had just come from Edin 
 burgh. The weather was lovely, every thing looked 
 VOL. L E 
 
98 MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 bright, your father and Lord - - were in the highest 
 spirits ; the conversation turned on Edinburgh, the 
 mode of life there, the remarkable men .it contained or 
 had produced ; it was most brilliant and interesting 
 the first taste I had had of what I must still think the 
 perfection of society. After dinner we all walked back 
 by moonlight. I have never forgot that day ; I think 
 it was one of the happiest of my life, and this has not 
 been an unhappy one, as you know. * 
 
 In the summer of 1807 he took his family for a short 
 time to a little cottage in the village of Sunning, near 
 Reading, to give them their first taste of the country ; 
 and even now I recollect with delight "each rural sight, 
 each rural sound" this first breath of air, free from 
 carpet-shakings, that we had inhaled. 
 
 I believe it was about this period that a letter from 
 Peter Plymley to his brother Abraham, on the subject 
 of the Irish Catholics, appeared suddenly in the London 
 world. Its effect, I have been told, was like a spark 
 on a heap of gunpowder. It was instantly dispersed 
 all over London, was to be found on every table, spread 
 in every direction over the country, and was the topic 
 of general conversation and conjecture. It was quickly 
 followed by another and another; each fresh letter in 
 creased the eagerness and curiosity of the public. Every 
 effort was made on the part of the existing Government 
 to find out the author in vain : the secret was well 
 kept. It is true, strong suspicion pointed toward the 
 little village in which my father then was, and a few of 
 those best acquainted with his style felt convinced there 
 was but one man in England who could so write who 
 could make the most irresistible wit and pleasantry the 
 vehicle of the soundest and most unanswerable argu 
 ment ; but no proof could be obtained. The editions 
 were bought up as fast as they could be printed, and I 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 99 
 
 am afraid from memory to state the numbers that were 
 sold. 
 
 At the request of the Catholics, cheaper editions were 
 made for dispersion in Ireland ; and few works, I have 
 heard, ever did more to open men s minds to the ab 
 surdity and danger of the system then pursued by En 
 gland,* and there arc, or rather were, few Catholics who 
 did not venerate the name of Sydney Smith, as one 
 who, though an honest servant of another church, felt 
 that the strongest tenet of that church was charity and 
 mercy ; and in this feeling labored incessantly to remove 
 the heavy burdens and disqualifications imposed on them 
 by the actual state of the laws. 
 
 And let no man say that he labored in vain ; that the 
 seeds he sowed have not brought forth fruit, though not 
 all the fruit they would have produced had they been 
 sown when they were offered. 
 
 All admit much has still to be done, and much time 
 must elapse before such sufferings can be forgotten ; but 
 look what Ireland was when my father first entered life, 
 in the midst of the tumult and violence of the French 
 Revolution, and look at what it has been of late ; look 
 at what he advised, and how he advised it ; look at 
 what has been done; and who will then say that the 
 efforts of such a man were unavailing, that his honest 
 labors were in vain, that he who dedicated the fine tal 
 ents God had given him from early youth to the hour 
 of his death, to spread religious toleration, has not clone 
 good in his generation ? I believe that his memory will 
 live with the good men of every land, and that his best 
 monument will be the love and respect of his countrymen. 
 
 * Lord Holland, I see, bears witness to the powerful effect this work 
 and the Edinburgh Review had on this question, in his Reminiscences 
 of that period ; and Lord Murray, in writing of it says, "After Pascal s 
 Letters, it is the most instructive piece of wisdom in the form of irony 
 ever written, and had the most important and lasting effects." 
 
100 MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 Eeferring some time after my father had left Lon 
 don for Yorkshire to Peter Plymley, Lord Holland 
 writes to him from Dropmore : 
 
 " MY DEAR SYDNEY, 
 
 " I wish you could have heard my conversation with 
 Lord Grenville the other day, and the warm and enthu 
 siastic way in which he spoke of Peter Plyrnley. I did 
 not fail to remind him that the only author to whom we 
 both thought it could "be compared in English, lost a 
 bishopric for his wittiest performance ; and I hoped that, 
 if we could discover the author, and had ever a bishopric 
 in our gift, we should prove that Whigs were both more 
 grateful and more liberal than Tories. 
 
 "He rallied me upon the affectation of concealing 
 who it was, but added that he hoped Peter would not 
 always live in Yorkshire ; for, among other reasons, we 
 felt the want of him just now in the state of the press, 
 and that he wished to God Abraham would do some 
 thing to provoke him to take up the pen again." 
 
 In this little village of Sunning he first made the ac 
 quaintance of Sir William Scott, afterward Lord Stowell, 
 then our nearest neighbor, whose society he found most 
 agreeable ; and by whom, though differing on almost 
 every point of politics, he was fully appreciated, and his 
 acquaintance eagerly sought after by him, not only then, 
 but during the remainder of my father s life, whenever 
 opportunity offered, in London ; and during the period 
 of this intercourse he not unfrequently said to my father, 
 "Ah, Mr. Smith, you would have been in a different 
 situation, and a far richer man, if you would have be 
 longed to us." These observations, from one so cautious, 
 so sagacious, and so strong a politician as Lord Stowell, 
 were, of course, gratifying to my father, as they showed 
 
]MEMOIlt OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. ]ol 
 
 that his powers and talents were* fully felt and appre 
 ciated by his political opponents. 
 
 On his return to town, receiving .an invitation, I 1 re 
 lieve from his friend Mr. Sharp, "to dine mtli , hiiri , at 
 Fishmongers Hall, he sent the foilowmg^playiul answer;* 
 which, trifling as it is, as my tale is made up of trifles, 
 I shall give : 
 
 " Much do I love, at civic treat, 
 The monsters of the deep to eat ; 
 To see the rosy salmon lying, 
 By smelts encircled, born for frying ; 
 And from the china boat to pour 
 On flaky cod, the ilavor d shower. 
 Thee, above all, I much regard, 
 Flatter than Longman s flattest bard, 
 Much honor d turbot ! sore I grieve 
 Thee and thy dainty friends to leave. 
 Far from ye all, in snuggest corner, 
 I go to dine with little Homer : 
 He who, with philosophic eye, 
 Sat brooding o er his Christmas pie : 
 Then, firm resolved, with either thumb, 
 Tore forth the crust-enveloped plum, 
 And, mad with youthful dreams of future fame, 
 Proclaim d the deathless glories of his name. 
 
 Ill the autumn of this year, 1808, lie paid i short 
 visit to his old haunts in Edinburgh, and on his return 
 visited for the first time Lord Roslyn and Lord Grey ; 
 saw the latter (where he was ever best seen) in the midst 
 of his family, at Howick ; and laid the foundation of 
 that friendship which was a constant source of pleasure 
 and gratification to him in after-life, and ended only 
 with his death. 
 
 As there was no house on his living, and no means 
 of procuring one in the neighborhood, and the popula- 
 lion of the parish was small, Dr. Markham, the then 
 Archbishop of York, permitted his continued residence 
 in town, on condition of his appointing an efficient cu 
 rate ; till the passing of the Residence Bill by Mr. Per- 
 
102 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 cival, in 1808 (a bill the most just in its intentions, and 
 the most unjust in -its effects), compelled him to resign 
 or-, ."build. ,- 
 
 From the blamable negligence on the subject of resi 
 dence- of the clergy,- . which had existed for so long a 
 period in the Church, one-third of the parsonage-houses 
 in England had gone to decay ; and thus, by the effects 
 of this bill, one generation of clergymen was compelled 
 suddenly to atone for the accumulated sins of their pre 
 decessors, and to benefit their successors by building 
 parsonage-houses out of their own private fortunes ; un 
 aided, save by a sum (I think a two or three years in 
 come of the living) which they were allowed to borrow 
 from Queen Anne s Bounty. Of this sum they were to 
 repay a portion each year, with interest upon the rest ; 
 and thus, if they retained the living a few years, they 
 were obliged to refund the whole sum, and it was utterly 
 lost to them and their families. 
 
 On receiving the startling summons from the Arch 
 bishop, my father went down immediately into York 
 shire, to see what his fate was to be. He found his 
 living well deserved its name of Foston-le-Clay ; con 
 sisting as it did of three hundred acres of glebe-land of 
 the stiffest clay, in a remote village of Yorkshire, where 
 there had not been a resident clergyman for a hundred 
 and fifty years, owing to the wretched state of the hovel 
 which had once been a parsonage-house. This consisted 
 of one brick-floored kitchen, with a room above it, which 
 was in so dangerous a condition that the farmer, who 
 had occupied it hitherto, declined living any longer in 
 it, and which opened on one side into a foal-yard, and 
 on the other into the church-yard ; and placed in a vil 
 lage where there . was no society above the rank of a 
 farmer. 
 
 His parishioners were so unaccustomed to the sights 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. li.i:; 
 
 of civilized life, that they could hardly recover from their 
 surprise at the sight of a gentleman from London in a 
 superfine coat and a four-wheeled carriage. 
 
 The prospect, it must be allowed, was not cheering, 
 either morally or physically; for the country was as 
 unpromising as the house. The clerk, the most import 
 ant man in the village, was summoned ; a man who ha d 
 numbered eighty years, looking, with his long gray hair, 
 his threadbare coat, deep wrinkles, stooping gait, and 
 crutch-stick, more ancient than the parsonage-house. 
 He looked at my father for some time from under his 
 gray shaggy eyebrows, and held a long conversation 
 with him, in which the old clerk showed that age had 
 not quenched the natural shrewdness of the Yorkshire- 
 man. At last, after a pause, he said, striking his 
 crutch-stick on the ground, " Muster Smith, it often 
 stroikes moy moind, that people as comes frae London 
 is such fools. . . . But you," he said (giving him a 
 nudge with his stick), "I see you arc no fool." Hav 
 ing thus gained the respect of the old, prejudiced clerk, 
 lie endeavored to prove himself no fool. He examined 
 carefully and understood thoroughly all the difficulties 
 of his position, viz. a house to be built without expe 
 rience or money ; a family and furniture to be moved 
 into the heart of Yorkshire a process, in the year 1808, 
 as difficult as a journey to the back settlements of Amer 
 ica now, to a man of small means ; the absolute ne 
 cessity of becoming a farmer, the living consisting of 
 land and no tithe, there being no farm-buildings on it 
 to enable him to let it, and the profound ignorance of 
 all agricultural pursuits inevitable in a man who had 
 passed life hitherto in towns, and whose time and atten 
 tion had been divided between preaching, literature, and 
 society. 
 
 Add to these, the moral difficulty of breaking through 
 
J04 MEMOlli OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 all the habits of his life, and tearing himself from the 
 many valuable friends he had by this time formed, and 
 who delighted in his society. But he felt it a duty, both 
 to his profession and family, that the effort should be 
 made. 
 
 He returned immediately to London, and obtained 
 the means of transporting his family and furniture, by 
 the publication of two volumes of the sermons he had 
 preached during his residence there with so much suc 
 cess. The means obtained, and the order of march 
 arranged, he set about breaking tip his little estab 
 lishment in London, which was not effected without 
 great opposition from his friends there, and many kind 
 attempts and schemes to detain him among them. 
 ) We all left town in the summer of 1809. He pro- 
 Deeded the party, and hired for their reception a small 
 but cheerful house in a village about two miles from 
 York ; from whence, not having been able to procure 
 one nearer, he proposed to do the duties of his living 
 for the present, while he endeavored, with Dr. Yernon 
 Harcourt s (the present Archbishop of York s) consent, 
 to negotiate some exchange of living, and thus to avoid 
 the necessity of building. 
 
 Lord Eldon required that a chancery living should 
 only be exchanged for another chancery living, and 
 that the parties so exchanging should be exactly of the 
 same age. These conditions rendered exchange almost 
 impossible ; but to one with such slender means, it was 
 worth any effort to avoid the ruinous expense of build 
 ing. He therefore exerted himself in every possible 
 way, and began several negotiations, but from these 
 reasons they all failed. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Establishment in Yorkshire. Habits. Modo of Life. Heading. At 
 tention to Children. Power of abstracting Thoughts. Farmer s Din 
 ner. Medical Anecdotes. Experiments. Extracts from Diary. 
 Practical Essays. Metaphysical Essays. Hints for History. Mr. 
 Macaulay s Letter. Sir S. llomilly s Visit. Sermon on his Death. 
 
 Anecdote of Koasted Quaker. Dining out in the Country. Brother 
 and Sir J. Mackintosh s return from India. Madame De Stael s Visit 
 to England. Typhus Fever. Verses on Mr. Jeffrey. 
 
 OUR first establishment at Heslington was a great 
 source of enjoyment to the younger part of the family, 
 glad to escape from the confinement of London ; and 
 our happiness contributed not a little to reconcile my 
 father to the change. 
 
 He now began to arrange his mode of life and estab 
 lishment. He bought a little second-hand carriage, 
 and a horse, called Peter ; and the groom once ex 
 claiming he had a "cruel face," he went ever after by 
 the name of Peter the Cruel : in this little carriage lie 
 used to drive himself and my mother every Sunday, 
 summer and winter (for she always accompanied him), 
 to serve his church at Foston, and returned late in the 
 evening. 
 
 At first it was not without fear that she intrusted 
 herself to so inexperienced a coachman; "but she soon," 
 he said, "raised my wages, and considered me an ex 
 cellent Jehu." The streets of York required some skill 
 in this art. My father once exclaiming to one of the 
 principal tradesmen there, "Why, Mr. Brown, your 
 streets are the narrowest in Europe ; there is not ac 
 tually room for two carriages to pass." "Not room I* 
 
 E* 
 
106 MEMOIR OF THE KEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 said the indignant Yorkist, "there s plenty of room, sir, 
 and above an inch and a half to spare ! " He used to 
 dig vigorously an hour or two each day in his garden, 
 as he said, "to avoid sudden death," for he was even 
 then inclined to embonpoint, and perhaps, as a young- 
 man, may have been considered somewhat clumsy in 
 figure (though I never thought so), for I have often 
 heard from my father that a college friend used to say 
 to him, " Sydney, your sense, wit, and clumsiness, al 
 ways give me the idea of an Athenian carter." He 
 spent much time in reading and composition ; his activ 
 ity was unceasing ; I hardly remember seeing him un 
 occupied, but when engaged in conversation. He never 
 considered his education as finished; he had always 
 some object in hand to investigate. He read with great 
 rapidity. I think it was said of Johnson, "Look at 
 Johnson, tearing out the bowels of his book." It might 
 be said of my father, that he was running off with their 
 contents, for he galloped through the pages so rapidly, 
 that we often laughed at him when he shut up a thick 
 quarto as his morning s work, and said he meant he had 
 looked at it, not read it. " Cross-examine me, then," 
 said he ; and we generally found he knew all that was 
 worth knowing in it ; though I do not think he had a 
 very retentive memory. The same peculiarity charac 
 terized his compositions ; when he had any subject in 
 hand, he was indefatigable in reading, searching, inquir 
 ing, seeking every source of information, and discussing 
 it with any man of sense or cultivation who crossed his 
 path. But having once mastered it, he would sit down, 
 and you might see him committing his ideas to paper 
 with the same rapidity that they flowed out in his con 
 versation no hesitation, no erasions, no stopping to 
 consider and round his periods, no writing for effect, 
 but a pouring out of the fullness of his mind and feel- 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 107 
 
 ings, for lie was heart and soul in whatever he under 
 took. One could see by his countenance how much he 
 was interested or amused as fresh images came cluster 
 ing round his pen ; he hardly ever altered or corrected 
 what he had written (as I find by many manuscripts I 
 have of his); indeed, he was so impatient of this, that 
 he could hardly bear the trouble of even looking over 
 what he had written, but would not unfrequently throw 
 thc manuscript down on the table as soon as finished, 
 and say, " There, it is done; now, Kate, do look it 
 over, and put in dots to the i s and strokes to the zfs"- 
 and he would sally forth to his morning s walk. 
 
 lie used frequently to lay out his plans of study for 
 the year. I find the following have accidentally been 
 preserved in one of his commonplace books, and shall 
 give them, though not strictly belonging to this period : 
 
 Plan of Study for 1820. 
 
 "Translate every day ten lines of the DC Officiis, 
 and re-translate into Latin, live chapters of Greek 
 Testament. Theological studies. Plato s Apology for 
 Socrates; Horace s Epodes, Epistles, Satires, and Ars 
 Poetica. 
 
 "Plan of Study for 1821. 
 
 "Write sermons and reviews, Monday, Wednesday, 
 and Friday. Read, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. 
 Write ten lines of Latin on writing days. Head five 
 chapters of Greek Testament on reading days. For 
 morning reading, either Polybius, or Diodorus Siculus, 
 or some tracts of Xenophon or Plato ; and for Latin, 
 Catullus, Tibullus, and Propertius. 
 
 "Monday: write, morning; read Tasso, evening. 
 Tuesday : Latin or Greek, morning ; evening, theology. 
 Wednesday, same as Monday. Friday, ditto. Tliurs- 
 
108 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 day and Saturday, same as Tuesday. Read every day 
 a chapter in Greek Testament, and translate ten lines 
 of Latin. Good "books to read : Terrasson s History 
 of Roman Jurisprudence ; Bishop of Chester s Records 
 of the Creation. " 
 
 He was very fond of children liked to have them 
 with him ; indeed, in looking back, it often fills me with 
 regret to think of the many advantages that ought to 
 have been turned to better account, in passing a life 
 with such a man. 
 
 He took a lively interest in all our pursuits and happi 
 ness (a happiness which, he often touchmgly said, lie 
 had never known in childhood); he never lost an op 
 portunity of showing us whatever could instruct or 
 amuse, that came within his reach ; he loved to exer 
 cise our minds ; and I remember, often in childhood, 
 gave my elder brother and myself subjects on which to 
 write essays for him. He encouraged the ceaseless 
 questions of childhood ; he was never too busy to ex 
 plain or assist; as we grew older, he endeavored to 
 stimulate us to exertion by shame at ignorance. Ho, 
 loved to discuss with us, met us as his equals, and I 
 look back with wonder at his patient refutation of our 
 crude and foolish opinions. 
 
 As we grew up we became his companions ; we were 
 called in to all family councils ; his letters were com 
 mon property ; the tenderest mother could not have 
 been more anxious and careful as to the religious ten 
 dency of any books we read, and often he has taken 
 books out of my hands which I had ignorantly begun, 
 with strict injunctions to consult him about my studies. 
 He regarded it as the greatest of all evils to produce 
 doubt or confusion in a youthful mind on such subjects ; 
 indeed he has said, in his sermons, that lie "would a 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEV. SYDNEY SMITH. luu 
 
 thousand times prefer that his child should die in the 
 bloom of youth, rather than it should live to disbe 
 lieve." 
 
 After his evening walk he would sit down to his 
 singular writing establishment, which I shall describe 
 hereafter, placed by the servant always in the same 
 place ; and here, after looking through business papers 
 and bills with as much plodding method as an attorney s 
 clerk, he would suddenly push them all aside, and, as 
 if to refresh his mind, take up his pen. His power of 
 abstraction was so great that he would begin to com 
 pose, with as much rapidity and ease as another man 
 would write a letter, those essays which are before the 
 world, or some of those sermons of which my mother 
 lias given a few to the public since his death ; often 
 reading what he had written, listening to our criticisms 
 (as Moliere did to his old woman), and this in the midst 
 of all the conversation and interruptions of a family 
 party, with talking or music going on. 
 
 "A clergyman complaining of want of society in the 
 country, saying, ; They talk of Tunis (young cows), 
 Johnson expressed himself much flattered by the reply 
 of Mrs. Thrale s mother : Sir, Dr. Johnson would learn 
 to talk of runts f meaning that I was a man that would 
 make the most of my situation, whatever it was."* This 
 was most strikingly the case with my father ; he always 
 endeavored to see the bright side of things, and to adapt 
 himself to the circumstances in which he was placed, 
 however uncongenial to his former tastes and habits. 
 He could talk of runts with those who talked only of 
 runts, and he not only talked, but entered so eagerly 
 into the subject before him that he ended by generally 
 finding sources of interest in them ; affording, in this 
 respect, a striking contrast to a brother clergyman, who 
 * BosAvcll s Life of Johnson. 
 
110 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 about the same time (having been a popular preacher in 
 London) received a valuable living in Yorkshire, and 
 came down to a good house and a more populous neigh 
 borhood than my father s. But alas ! he could not talk 
 of runts ; he sighed after Piccadilly ; his face grew thin 
 ner and longer every time we met ; he used often to call, 
 and lament over his hard fate, and wonder how my fa 
 ther could endure it with so much cheerfulness ; and I 
 believe he would have died of green fields and runts, if 
 he had not succeeded in effecting an exchange, which 
 restored him again to London. 
 
 Talking of runts reminds me of a practice my father 
 established as soon as he was settled at Foston, of in 
 viting some of the most respectable farmers in his neigh 
 borhood to dine with him once a year. On these occa 
 sions he did not make it a mere man s dinner, but the 
 ladies of his family were always present ; and, without 
 lowering his own dignity or appearing to descend to the 
 level of his more humble guests, it w r as interesting to 
 observe how he drew out the real sense and knowledge 
 they possessed, how he discussed their opinions, and 
 with what tact he gave a tone of general interest to the 
 conversation. Trifling as this was, it was evidently of 
 great utility : it gave him more knowledge of them and 
 influence among them than he could otherwise have ob 
 tained ; each man went away better pleased with him 
 self and less of a grumbler than he came ; and, I suspect, 
 with a greater value for character, which was the only 
 passport to his table. 
 
 My father employed himself much in acquiring a 
 knowledge of all rural arts and details of farming, such 
 as baking, brewing, fattening poultry, churning, etc. ; 
 talking much to the working people, whose shrewdness 
 and blunt sense delighted him. He always acquired 
 some information from them, often kindly taking up 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. Ill 
 
 sonic old woman returning from market into his gig and 
 learning her history. He said he never found anything 
 well done in a small household, if the master and mis 
 tress were ignorant of the mode in which it ought to Ibe 
 done. 
 
 He began, too on a small scale to exercise his skill in 
 medicine, doing much good among his poor neighbors, 
 though there were often ludicrous circumstances con 
 nected with his early medical career. On one occasion, 
 wishing to administer a ball to Peter the Cruel, the 
 groom, by mistake, gave him two boxes of opium pills 
 in his bran mash, which Peter composedly munched, 
 boxes and all. My father, in dismay, when lie heard 
 what had happened, went to look, as he thought, for 
 the last time on his beloved Peter ; but soon found, to 
 his great relief, that neither boxes nor pills had produced 
 any visible effects on him. Another time he found all 
 his pigs intoxicated, and, as lie declared, "grunting God 
 save the King about the sty," from having eaten some 
 fermented grains which he had ordered for them. Once 
 he administered castor-oil to the red cow, in quantities 
 sufficient to have killed a regiment of Christians ; but 
 the red cow laughed alike at his skill and his oil, and 
 went on her way rejoicing. 
 
 He never sat a moment after dinner when alone with 
 his family, having contracted a horror of it from the 
 long sittings inflicted on him in early life by his father ; 
 who, dining at three, used to sit till dark, and expect 
 his family to do the same. My father rushed into the 
 opposite extreme ; and the cloth was scarcely removed 
 ere he called for his hat and stick, and sallied forth for 
 his evening stroll, in which we always accompanied 
 him. Each cow, and calf, and horse, and pig, were in 
 turn visited, and fed and patted, and all seemed to wel 
 come him : lie caved for their comforts as he cared for 
 
112 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 the comforts of every living being around him. He 
 used to say, " I am all for cheap luxuries, even for 
 animals ; now all animals have a passion for scratching 
 their backbones ; they break down your gates and pal 
 ings to effect this. Look ! There is my universal 
 scratcher, a sharp-edged pole, resting on a high and a 
 low post, adapted to every height, from a horse to a 
 lamb. Even the Edinburgh Reviewer can take his 
 turn ; you have no idea how popular it is ; I have not 
 had a gate broken since I put it up ; I have it in all my 
 fields." 
 
 He always had some experiment going on. At one 
 time he was bent on inventing a method of burning the 
 fat of his own sheep, instead of candles ; and numerous 
 were the little tin lamps, of various forms and sizes, 
 produced ; great the illuminations and greater the smells, 
 the house being redolent of mutton-fat while this fancy 
 lasted. 
 
 Then he took smoking chimneys in hand, and in 
 vented patent iron backs, to throw out the heat of the 
 fire by contracting the chimney, and facilitate sweeping 
 them by the ease of removal ; and, I am bound in grati 
 tude to own, with much success. 
 
 Immediately on coming to Foston, as early as the 
 year 1809, he set on foot gardens for the poor; and 
 subsequently, Dutch gardens for spade cultivation. The 
 former were, I believe, among the first trials of an ex 
 periment which has been since so generally adopted, as 
 one of the most beneficial charities among the country 
 population ; dividing several acres of the glebe into six 
 teenths, and letting them, at a low rent, to the villagers, 
 to whom they were the greatest comfort. It became 
 quite a pretty sight afterward to see these small gardens 
 (which were just enough to supply a cottager with pota 
 toes, and sometimes enable him to keep a pig) filled at 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDSET SMITH. 113 
 
 dawn with the women and children cultivating them be 
 fore they went out to their day s labor ; and there was 
 the greatest emulation among them whose garden should 
 be most productive and obtain the prize. 
 
 Then the cheapest diet for the poor, and cooking for 
 the poor, formed the subjects of his inquiry : and many 
 a hungry laborer was brought in and stuffed with rice, 
 or broth, or porridge, to test their relative effects on the 
 appetite. In short, it would be endless to enumerate 
 the variety of subjects and objects which the activity 
 and energy of his mind suggested and found interest in. 
 
 In an evening, often with a child on each knee, ho 
 would invent a tale for their amusement, composed of 
 such ludicrous images and combinations as nobody else 
 would have thought of, succeeding each other with the 
 greatest rapidity; these were devoured by them with 
 eyes and ears, in breathless interest ; but at the most 
 thrilling moment always terminated with "and so they 
 lived very happy ever after," a kiss on each fat cheek, 
 
 " and now go to bed." 
 
 The following arc extracts from such few portions of 
 his diary as have been preserved, written at various 
 times. These slight, unfinished fragments are not, of 
 course, given as specimens of composition ; but they 
 are, I think, of great value, as indicating the occupation 
 and direction of his thoughts, and the wholesome train 
 ing of his mind, in his leisure hours, and in solitude, of 
 which he seems to have felt the full value for the im- 
 provemerit of his character. In one of his letters to 
 Jeffrey about this period, he says: "Living a great 
 deal alone (as I now do) will, I believe, correct me of 
 my faults, for a man can do without his own approba 
 tion in much society, but he must make great exertions 
 to gain it when he is alone ; without it, I am convinced, 
 solitude is not to be endured." 
 
114 MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 "Maxims and Hides of Life. 
 
 "Remember that every person, however low, has 
 Tights and feelings. In all contentions, let peace be 
 rather your object, than triumph: value triumph only 
 as the means of peace. 
 
 " Kemember that your children, your wife, and your 
 servants, have rights and feelings ; treat them as you 
 would treat persons who could turn again. Apply these 
 doctrines to the administration of justice as a magis 
 trate. Hank poisons make good medicines ; error and 
 misfortune may be turned into wisdom and improve 
 ment. 
 
 "Do not attempt to frighten children and inferiors by 
 passion ; it does more harm to your own character than 
 it does good to them ; the same thing is better done by 
 firmness and persuasion. 
 
 "If you desire the common people to treat you as a 
 gentleman, you must conduct yourself as a gentleman 
 should do to them. 
 
 "When you meet with neglect, let it rouse you to 
 exertion, instead of mortifying your pride. Set about 
 lessening those defects which expose you to neglect, and 
 improve those excellences which command attention and 
 respect. 
 
 "Against general fears, remember how very precari 
 ous life is, take what care you will ; how short it is, last 
 
 as long as it ever does. 
 
 "Rise early in the morning, not only to avoid self- 
 reproach, but to make the most of the little life that 
 remains ; not only to save the hours lost in sleep, but to 
 avoid that languor which, is spread over mind and body 
 for the whole of that day in which you have lain late in 
 bed. 
 
 "Passion gets less and less powerful after every do- 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 115 
 
 feat. Husband energy for the real demand which the 
 dangers of life make upon it. 
 
 " Find fault, when you must find fault, in private, if 
 possible ; and some time after the offense, rather than 
 at the time. The blamed are less inclined to resist, 
 when they are blamed without witnesses ; both parties 
 are calmer, and the accused party is struck with the 
 forbearance of the accuser, who has seen the fault, and 
 watched for a private and proper time for mentioning it/ 
 
 "My son writes me word he is unhappy at school. 
 This makes me unhappy; but, 1st. There is much 
 unhappiness in human life : how can school be exempt ? 
 2dly. Boys are apt to take a particular moment of de 
 pression for a general feeling, and they are in fact rarely 
 Unhappy ; at the moment I write, perhaps he is playing 
 about in the highest spirits. 3dly. When he comes to 
 state his grievance, it w r ill probably have vanished, or be 
 so trifling, that it will yield to argument or expostulation. 
 4thly. At all events, if it is a real evil which makes him 
 unhappy, I must find out what it is, and proceed to act 
 upon it ; but I must wait till I can, either in person or 
 by letter, find out what it is." 
 
 "Jan. 19th I passed very unhappily, from an un 
 pleasant state of body produced by indolence. 
 
 "Feb. 15th. Lost two hours in bed, from dawrlling 
 and doubting. Maxims to make one get up : 1st. Op 
 timum eligite, et consuetudo faciet jucundissitnum. 
 2d. I must get up at last, it will be as difficult then as 
 now. 3d. By getting up I gain health, knowledge, 
 temper, and animal spirits. 
 
 "May 31st. The difficulty of getting up, and I par 
 ley with the fault ; the only method is, to obey the 
 rulo instantlv, and without a moment s reflection. 
 
116 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 "Nov. 3d. Lost a day by indolence ; the only meth 
 od is to spring up at once. 
 
 "I am uneasy about the sort of answer which the 
 editor of the - has given to my letter ; but as I 
 can not see his answer, the best way is to wait till I can 
 see it ; and after all, it is of very little consequence. 
 Every man magnifies too much what belongs to him 
 self; nobody does this more than I do. 
 
 " Another reason for benevolence is, that you forget 
 your own joy from being so accustomed to it, but the 
 joy of others seems something new. 
 
 " - says, my best patients are the poor, for 
 God is the paymaster. 
 
 " Death it must come some time or other. It has 
 come to all, greater, better, wiser, than I. 
 
 "I have lived sixty-six years. 
 
 " I have done but very little harm in the world, and 
 I have brought up my family. 
 
 " I was seized with sudden giddiness, so as to fall, 
 and for twenty-two hours was affected by violent pain. 
 I kept my bed that day, and was weak and languid for 
 some days after. Mr. Lyddon attributes it to indiges 
 tion. If this is the way nature punishes us for the con 
 sumption of indigestible food, I am sure it is worth while 
 to be strictly temperate ; I will therefore, in future, 
 avoid soup and fish, and confine myself to one dish. I 
 must not only attend to quantity, but quality. I may 
 not be able to do this then I must die or be ill ; but 
 I am sure it is the best wisdom to do it. 
 
 "Not only is religion calm and tranquil, but it has 
 an extensive atmosphere round it, whose calmness and 
 tranquillity must be preserved, if you w r ould avoid mis 
 representation. 
 
 "Not only study that those with whom you live 
 should habitually respect you, but cultivate such man- 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 117 
 
 ners as will secure the respect of persons with whom 
 you occasionally converse. Keep up the habit of being 
 respected, and do not attempt to be more amusing and 
 agreeable than is consistent with the preservation of re 
 spect. 
 
 "I am come to the age of seventy; have attained 
 enough reputation to make me somebody : I should not 
 like a vast reputation, it would plague me to death. I 
 hope to care less for the outward world. 
 
 "Hope. 
 
 "Don t be too severe upon yourself and your own 
 ] failings ; keep on, don t faint, be energetic to the last. 
 
 "If you wisli to keep mind clear and body healthy, 
 abstain from all fermented liquors. 
 
 "Fight against sloth, and do all you can to make 
 friends. 
 
 " If old-age is even a state of suffering, it is a state 
 of superior wisdom, in which man avoids all the rash 
 and foolish things he docs in his youth, and which make 
 life dangerous and painful. 
 
 " Death must be distinguished from dying, with 
 which it is often confounded. 
 
 "Reverence and stand in awe of yourself. 
 
 " How Nature delights and amuses us by varying 
 even the character of insects : the ill-nature of the wasp, 
 the sluggishness of the drone, the volatility of the butter 
 fly, the slyness of the bug. 
 
 "Take short views, hope for the best, and trust in 
 God." 
 
 "A FEW UNFINISHED SKETCHES.* 
 
 " Of the Body. 
 
 " Happiness is not impossible without health, but it is 
 I of very difficult attainment. I do not mean by health 
 From liis " Practical Essays." 
 
118 MEMOIR OF THE KEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 merely an absence of dangerous complaints, but that 
 the body should be in perfect tune full of vigor and 
 alacrity. 
 
 " The longer I live, the more I am convinced that the 
 apothecary is of more importance than Seneca ; and that 
 half the unhappiness in the world proceeds from little 
 stoppages, from a duct clicked up, from food pressing in 
 the wrong place, from a vext duodenum, or an agitated 
 pylorus. 
 
 " The deception, as practiced upon human creatures, 
 is curious and entertaining. My friend sups late ; he 
 eats some strong soup, then a lobster, then some tart, 
 and he dilutes these esculent varieties with wine. The 
 next day I call upon him. He is going to sell his house 
 in London, and to retire into the country. He is alarmed 
 for his eldest daughter s health. His expenses are 
 hourly increasing, and nothing but a timely retreat can 
 save him from ruin. All this is the lobster : and when 
 over-excited nature has had time to manage this testa 
 ceous encumbrance, the daughter recovers, the finances 
 are in good order, and every rural idea effectually ex 
 cluded from the mind. 
 
 " In the same manner old friendships are destroyed by 
 toasted cheese, and hard salted meat has led to suicide. 
 Unpleasant feelings of the body produce correspondent 
 sensations in the mind, and a great scene of wretched 
 ness is sketched out by a morsel of indigestible and mis 
 guided food. Of such infinite consequence to happiness 
 is it to study the body ! 
 
 "I have nothing new to say upon the management 
 which the body requires. The common rules arc the 
 best : exercise without fatigue ; generous living with 
 out excess ; early rising, and moderation in sleeping. 
 These are the apothegms of old women ; but if they 
 are not attended to, happiness becomes so extremely 
 
MEMOIll OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. Ho 
 
 difficult that very few persons can attain to it. In 
 this point of view, the care of the body becomes a 
 subject of elevation and importance. A walk in the 
 fields, an hour s less sleep, may remove all those bodily 
 vexations and disquietudes which are such formidable 
 enemies to virtue ; and may enable the mind to pursue 
 its own resolves without that constant train of tempta 
 tions to resist, and obstacles to overcome, which it al 
 ways experiences from the bad organization of its com 
 panion. Johnson says, every man is a rascal when he 
 is sick ; meaning, I suppose, that he has no benevolent 
 dispositions at that period toward his fellow-creatures, 
 but that his notions assume a character of greater af 
 finity to his bodily feelings, and that, feeling pain, he 
 becomes malevolent ; and if this be true of great dis 
 eases, it is true in a less degree of the smaller ailments 
 of the body. 
 
 "Get up in a morning, walk before breakfast, pass 
 four or five hours of the day in some active employ 
 ment ; then, cat and drink overnight, lie in bed till 
 one or two o clock, saunter away the rest of the day 
 in doing nothing! can any two human beings be 
 more perfectly dissimilar than the same individual un 
 der these two different systems of corporeal manage 
 ment ? and is it not of as great importance toward 
 happiness to pay a -minute attention to the body, as 
 it is to study the wisdom of Chrysippus and Grantor ?" 
 
 " Of Occupation, 
 
 " A good stout bodily machine being provided, we 
 must be actively occupied, or there can be little hap 
 piness. 
 
 "If a good useful occupation be not provided, it is 
 so ungciiial to the human mind to do nothing, that 
 men occupy themselves perilously, as with gaming ; 
 
120 MEMOIR OF THE IIEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 QIC frivolously, as with walking up and down a street 
 at a watering-place, and looking at the passers-by ; or 
 malevolently, as by teazing their wives and children. 
 It is impossible to support, for any length of time, a 
 state of perfect ennui / and if you were to shut a man 
 up for any length of time within four walls, without oc 
 cupation, he would go mad. If idleness do not produce 
 vice or malevolence, it commonly produces melancholy. 
 
 "A stockbroker or a farmer have no leisure for imag 
 inary wretchedness ; their minds are usually hurried 
 away by the necessity of noticing external objects, and 
 they are guaranteed from that curse of idleness, the 
 eternal disposition to think of themselves. 
 
 "If we have no necessary occupation, it becomes 
 extremely difficult to make to ourselves occupations as 
 entirely absorbing as those which necessity imposes. 
 
 "The profession which a man makes for himself is 
 seldom more than a half profession, and often leaves the 
 mind in a state of vacancy and inoccupation. We must 
 lash ourselves up however, as well as we can, to a notion 
 of its great importance ; and as the dispensing power is 
 in our own hands, we must be very jealous of remission 
 and of idleness. 
 
 "It may seem absurd that a gentleman who does 
 not live by the profits of farming should rise at six 
 o clock in the morning to look after his farm ; or, if 
 botany be his object, that he should voyage to Iceland 
 in pursuit of it. He is the happier however for his 
 eagerness ; his mind is more fully employed, and lie is 
 much more effectually guaranteed from all the miseries 
 of ennui. 
 
 "It is asked, if the object can be of such great im 
 portance. Perhaps not ; but the pursuit is. The fox, 
 when caught, is worth nothing: he is followed for the 
 pleasure of the following. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 121 
 
 " What is a man to do with his life who has nothing 
 which he must do ? It is admitted he must find some 
 employment, but does it signify what that employment 
 is ? Is he employed as much for his own happiness in 
 cultivating a flower-garden as in philosophy, literature, 
 or politics ? This must depend upon the individual 
 himself, and the circumstances in which he is placed. 
 As far as the mere occupation or exclusion of ennui 
 goes, this can be settled only by the feelings of the per 
 son employed ; and if the attention be equally absorbed, 
 in this point of view one occupation is as good as anoth 
 er ; but a man who is conscious he was capable of doing 
 great things, and has occupied himself with trifles be 
 neath the level of his understanding, is apt to feel envy 
 at the lot of those who have excelled him, and remorse 
 at the misapplication of his own powers ; he has not 
 added to the pleasures of occupation the pleasures of 
 benevolence, and so has not made his occupation as 
 agreeable as he might have done, and he lias probably 
 not gained as much fame and wealth as he might have 
 done if his pursuits had been of a higher nature. For 
 these reasons it seems right that a man should attend to 
 the highest pursuits in which he has any fair chance of 
 excelling ; he is as much occupied, gains more of what 
 is worth gaining, and excludes remorse more effectually, 
 even if he fail, because he is conscious of having made 
 the effort. 
 
 " When a very clever man, or a very great man, takes 
 to cultivating turnips and retiring, it is generally an im 
 posture. The moment men cease to talk of their turnips, 
 they are wretched and full of self-reproach. Let every 
 \ man be occupied, and occupied in the highest employ- 
 "| ment of which his nature is capable, and die with the 
 consciousness that he IMS done his best f 
 
122 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 " Of Friendship. 
 
 " Life is to be fortified by many friendships. To love, 
 and to be loved, is the greatest happiness of existence. 
 If I lived under the burning sun of the equator, it would 
 be a pleasure to me to think that there were many human 
 beings on the other side of the world who regarded and 
 respected me ; I could and would not live if I were alone 
 upon the earth, and cut off from the remembrance of my 
 fellow-creatures. It is not that a man has occasion often 
 to fall back upon the kindness of his friends ; perhaps he 
 may never experience the necessity of doing so ; but w,e 
 are governed by our imaginations, and they stand there 
 as a solid and impregnable bulwark against all the evils 
 of life. 
 
 "Friendships should be formed with persons of all 
 ages and conditions, and with both sexes. I have a 
 friend who is a bookseller, to whom I have been very 
 civil, and who would do any thing to serve me ; and I 
 have two or three small friendships among persons in 
 much humbler walks of life, who, I verily believe, would 
 do me a considerable kindness according to their means. 
 It is a great happiness to form a sincere friendship with 
 a woman ; but a friendship among persons of different 
 sexes rarely or ever takes place in this country. The 
 -austerity of our manners hardly admits of such a con 
 nection compatible with the most perfect innocence, 
 and a source of the highest possible delight to those 
 who are fortunate enough to form it. 
 
 " Very few friends will bear to be told of their faults ; 
 and if done at all, it must be done with infinite manage 
 ment and delicacy ; for if you indulge often in this prac 
 tice, men think you hate, and avoid you. If the evil is 
 not very alarming, it is better indeed to let it alone, and 
 not to turn friendship into a system of lawful and un- 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. li>3 
 
 punishable impertinence. I am for frank explanations 
 with friends in cases of affronts. They sometimes save 
 a perishing friendship, and even place it on a firmer basis 
 than at first ; but secret discontent must always end 
 badly." 
 
 "Of Cheerfulness, 
 
 " Cheerfulness and good spirits depend in a great de 
 gree upon bodily causes, but much may be done for the 
 promotion of this turn of mind. Persons subject to low 
 spirits should make the rooms in which they live as 
 cheerful as possible ; taking care that the paper with 
 which the wall is covered should be of a brilliant, lively 
 color, hanging up pictures or prints, and covering the 
 chimney-piece with beautiful china. A bay-window 
 - looking upon pleasant objects, and, above all, a large 
 fire whenever the weather will permit, are favorable to 
 good spirits, and the tables near should be strewed with 
 books and pamphlets. To this must be added as much 
 eating and drinking as is consistent with health ; and 
 some manual employment for men as gardening, a 
 carpenter s shop, the turning-lathe, etc. Women have 
 always manual employment enough, and it is a great 
 source of cheerfulness. Fresh air, exercise, occupation, 
 society, and traveling are powerful remedies. 
 
 " Melancholy commonly flics to the future for its ali 
 ment, and must be encountered in this sort of artifice, 
 by diminishing the range of our views. I have a large 
 family coming on, my income is diminishing, and I shall 
 fall into pecuniary difficulties. Well ! but you are not 
 now in pecuniary difficulties. Your eldest child is only 
 seven years old ; it must be two or three years before 
 your family make any additional demands upon your 
 purse. Wait till the time comes. Much may happen 
 in the interval to better your situation ; and if nothino- 
 
124 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 does happen, at least enjoy the two or three years of 
 ease and uninterruption which are before you. You are 
 uneasy about your eldest son in India;, but it is now 
 June, and at the earliest the fleet will not come in till 
 September; it may bring accounts of his health and 
 prosperity, but at all events there are eight or nine 
 weeks before you can hear news. Why are they to be 
 spent as if you had heard the worst ? The habit of takr 
 ing very short views of human life may be acquired by 
 degrees, and a great sum of happiness is gained by it. 
 It becomes as customary at last to view things on the 
 good side of the question as it was before to despond, 
 and to extract misery from every passing event. 
 
 " A firm confidence in an overruling Providence a 
 remembrance of the shortness of human life, that it will 
 soon be over and finished that we scarcely know, un 
 less we could trace the remote consequences of every 
 eyent, what would be good and what an evil ; these are 
 very important topics in that melancholy which proceeds 
 from grief. 
 
 4 It is wise to state to friends that our spirits are low, 
 to state the cause of the depression, and to hear all that 
 argument or ridicule can suggest for the cure. Melan 
 choly is always the worse for concealment, and many 
 causes of depression are so frivolous, that we arc 
 shamed out of them by the mere statement of their ex 
 istence." 
 
 Scattered among his papers are a few fragments on 
 metaphysical subjects, which always interested him. 
 
 " J3enevolence. 
 
 "A child is born with the power of feeling bodily 
 pleasure and pain. The milk he receives from his nurse 
 delights him. The appearance of the nurse is always 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 125 
 
 connected with that pleasure, and, by the laws of asso 
 ciation, because he loves the milk he at last comes to 
 love the nurse ; that is, her presence excites in him the 
 passion of joy. In the same manner, if his nurse, in 
 stead of suckling him, had rubbed his mouth with worm 
 wood, the pain of the wormwood would be united with 
 the appearance of the nurse ; and because the taste of 
 the wormwood excited in him the passion of sorrow, the 
 appearance of the nurse would at last do the same. In 
 this way we begin to connect our fellow-creatures with 
 our pleasures and pains. 
 
 "But whence comes it that a child travels from joy 
 to benevolence, and wishes to do good to the person 
 who excites in him pleasurable sensations? Why is 
 he not benevolent toward the pap-boat, or the nurse s 
 gown, or any other inanimate object which his eye con 
 nects as frequently with his animal pleasures as the 
 image of his nurse ? The progress from joy to benevo 
 lence is, I believe, entirely the result of experience, and 
 the latter is a passion of much later growth than the 
 other. As a child grows older, he perceives that the 
 person who ministers to his joy and sorrow has similar 
 feelings with himself, and that it becomes his interest to 
 attend to them. If he scratches, and kicks, and cries, 
 and knocks down glasses and tea-cups, he is shaken or 
 scolded, or sugar is refused ; or he is put in the corner, 
 or whipped. If he pleases his superior, come cakes, 
 plums, toys, and amusing games. 
 
 "In the same manner, at school, he is every day 
 receiving lessons of the evils of malevolence and the 
 
 o 
 
 advantages of benevolence. Kicks, cuffs, privations, 
 solitude, deter him on one hand ; cheerful society, pro 
 tection, community of joys, allure him on the other. In 
 this way he learns the important lesson of doing good 
 in order to promote his own good ; and having loved 
 
12G MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 the passion for its utility, lie loves it at last for itself. 
 In after-life, the poet, the orator, the moralist, and the 
 preacher, praise and purify this fine passion, give it 
 strength, which conceals its origin, and makes it appeal- 
 primary and original. 
 
 "In order to make this more clear, let us suppose 
 that a child was treated, to a late period, with the same 
 uniform indulgence, however numerous his faults, and 
 however untoward his disposition; that nurse, father, 
 mother, school-fellow, and schoolmaster, all studied his 
 humors and ministered to his wants, without exacting 
 from him in return the slightest attention to their own 
 feelings. What motive could such a child have for be 
 nevolence ? How would he learn to "become "benevolent ? 
 Why should he cultivate such passive human beings, 
 more than the spoon, or the silver mug, which, tossed 
 and tumbled about by his caprice to-day, are sure to 
 appear at the dinner of to-morrow ? 
 
 "In fact, such a blind submission to the will of any 
 child would infallibly make him a tyrant, and extin 
 guish in his mind every spark of benevolence : but if 
 an exemption from the necessity of attending to the 
 feelings of our fellow-creatures, destroys benevolence, 
 the necessity of doing so may be presumed to teach it. 
 Where one fact, admitted to be true, will explain other 
 facts equally admitted to be true, there is no occasion 
 to suppose other facts which are doubtful, in order to 
 make a new series of causes and consequences. That 
 children are born capable of feeling bodily pain and 
 pleasure, is not disputed ; that they soon learn to be 
 benevolent toward, or to love their fellow-creatures, is 
 an equally admitted fact. If one of these facts can be 
 shown to be the cause of the other, there is no occasion 
 to have recourse to a principle of benevolence as an 
 original principle of our nature ; but this, though a curi- 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDXEY SMITH. 127 
 
 ous, is not a very important question. Whether innate, - 
 or early learnt, the most pure and disinterested benevo 
 lence exists in human nature. Howard visited prisons 
 and lazarettos, and sacrificed his life for his fellow-creat 
 ures, let the metaphysical origin of benevolence be what 
 it may. 
 
 " The passion of benevolence, thus excited in our na 
 ture, receives the name of gratitude, when we desire to 
 do good to those who have done good to us. From ap 
 parent gratitude, is to be deducted the hope of future 
 favor from the object of our gratitude, and the dread of 
 infamy for being ungrateful. The pure passion may be 
 explained from the united effects of association and edu 
 cation. Sexual love is that benevolence to persons of 
 the opposite sex, which proceeds from the beauty of 
 their countenance or their form. 
 
 "Paternal love is the benevolence which a father feels 
 loward his child. This passion, like all others which 
 are of use to mankind, is very much increased by edu 
 cation and general opinion, by reason and reflection, and 
 by compassion, by habit, and association. I see no 
 occasion for supposing the existence of any original 
 principle of paternal love. The analogy from animals 
 is entirely against it. Love, when applied to persons 
 of the same sex, like affection, kindness, are all modi 
 fications of the same passions of joy, or benevolence ; 
 an agreeable, charming, or delightful person excites 
 these passions in us, in different degrees, gives us feel 
 ings of joy, or makes us desirous of doing him some 
 good. When benevolence excites us to give, it is called 
 generosity. Hope is the belief, more or less strong, 
 that joy will come ; desire is the wish it may come. 
 There is no word to designate the remembrance of joys 
 past." 
 
128 MEMOIK OF THE IIEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 " Of the Mind. (A Fragment.} 
 
 " The mind is inhabited by ideas, by passions, and 
 by desires. Passions are strong feelings or affections 
 of the mind, not leading immediately to action. De 
 sires are strong feelings of the mind, accompanied by 
 a wish to act. 
 
 "In revenge, I can perceive that my mind is power 
 fully affected, and I have a wish to act, and to give 
 pain to some person this is a desire. When the 
 possession of sudden wealth is announced to me, I 
 feel transported with joy, but I have no immediate de 
 sire to act here I only recognize the affection of my 
 mind. 
 
 " In avarice, there is the feeling and the wish to act 
 this is a desire. In grief there is only the affection or 
 perturbation of the mind this is a passion. Every de 
 sire is a passion : every passion is not a desire. Emo 
 tion is another name for passion. 
 
 " The mind is of course the seat of all pain and pleas 
 ure. The pain of the gout is not in my toe, but in my 
 mind, and I refer it to the toe as the cause. If this were 
 otherwise, I should have ten minds instead of one, and 
 as many on my hands. 
 
 "The pains and pleasures of the body ought to be 
 classed among the passions. They are passions to all 
 intents and purposes. The pains of the body have all 
 some affinity to each other, and in consequence of that 
 affinity have received the common name of pain. They 
 are not degrees of the same feeling, but are different 
 feelings, though with some general resemblance. It 
 is an abuse of terms to call the pain excited by gout, 
 by a cut, by a contusion, and by the stomach-ache, de 
 grees of the same feeling. In the same manner, the 
 pleasure arising from sweetness, smoothness, or from 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 129 
 
 savory tastes, appear to be distinct feelings, with some 
 common relation between them, and therefore denomin 
 ated pleasures. 
 
 "What is true of pain and of pleasure referred to the 
 body, and in popular estimation supposed to exist in 
 the body, is true also of the pains and pleasures of the 
 mind. 
 
 " Grief, hatred, and revenge, are not degrees of the 
 same painful feeling, but distinct feelings. So are hope, 
 joy, and benevolence; but all the agreeable passions 
 have some resemblance to each other so have all the 
 disagreeable passions." 
 
 I find among his papers various hints for history, such 
 as the following, which are many of them very charac 
 teristic : 
 
 "In 1758, the Chevalier Barras was burnt to death 
 at Amiens for singing a blasphemous song. Thirty- 
 five years afterward the Christian religion, was abol 
 ished all over France, and the church property confis 
 cated. 
 
 "Blackstone says that for the Bull Uhigenitus alone 
 fifty-four thousand lettres de cachet were issued. Sev 
 enty thousand persons executed in the reign of Henry 
 VIII. (See BRODIE, vol. i.) 
 
 "In 1782, Louis XVI., exercising the right of is 
 suing lettres de cachet, and in possession of full and 
 unrestrained power ; ten years after, his head was cut 
 off. 
 
 "In 1770, the English Legislature taxed the Ameri 
 can colonies, and made laws for them ; in twelve years 
 afterward the colonies were declared an independent 
 State. 
 
 "In 1797, Ireland petitioned the English Parlia 
 ment for some small indulgence to their commerce ; 
 
 F * 
 
130 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 the petition was unanimously ignored : in eight years 
 afterward, Ireland was unanimously declared by the 
 same Parliament to be a separate and independent 
 kingdom. 
 
 "In America there is no waste of public money; 
 all public matters are conducted with exemplary fru 
 gality. On days of ceremony, two constables walk be 
 fore the President, and he sits down to a joint of meat 
 and a pudding provided at the expense of twenty-two 
 republics. 
 
 " The religious mistakes of mankind have been, that 
 there are spirits mingling with mankind, hence demons, 
 witchcraft; that God governs the world by present judg 
 ments, hence ordeals / that there is a connection between 
 the fate of particular men and the heavenly bodies at the 
 time of their birth, hence astrology / that God is to be 
 worshiped by the misery and privations of the worship 
 ers, hence monasteries and flagellations. 
 
 "Account of Taxes from William the Conqueror. 
 
 106G 200,000 
 
 126G 150,000 
 
 136G 130,000 
 
 14GG .. . 100,000 
 
 15GG 1,500,000 
 
 1GGG 1,800,000 
 
 17GG 17,000,000 
 
 Four years after the Scotch Union, Lord F 
 
 moved its repeal in the House of Lords, 54 against 54 ; 
 four proxies carried it against the motion. 
 
 " Fleury became minister at seventy-three years of 
 age. 
 
 " Galileo was made to promise, on his knees, never 
 to teach again the motion of the Earth and the Sun ; as 
 a part of his punishment, he was directed to write every 
 week the- seven Penitential Psalms. 
 
 " The infamous Judge Jeffreys would not give up his 
 Protestantism, and lost the favor of James II. 
 
 "At the Revolution, the debt was a million, the rev- 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 131 
 
 enue two, i.e. we owed half a year s income at present 
 about sixteen years income. 
 
 "Brahmins may eat beef, if killed for sacrifice and 
 there are sacrifices every day. 
 
 " The Excise and Post-office began under the Com 
 monwealth. Court of Wards abolished in the Common 
 wealth. 
 
 " Colbert never taxed imports as high as ten per cent. 
 ad valorem ; he had no prohibition. 
 
 "The Scotch members used to receive ten guineas 
 per week, secret service money. 
 
 " Sir John Trevor, Speaker of the Lower House, was 
 convicted of receiving a bribe of a thousand pounds from 
 the City of London between 1700 and 1716." 
 
 Among his manuscripts is a sketch he wrote at a later 
 period, giving an account of English misrule of Ireland 
 from the earliest period of our possession up to the pres 
 ent day, compiled from the best existing documents, and 
 forming so fearful a picture that he hesitated to give it 
 to the world when done. After his death, my mother, 
 thinking the time perhaps come when it might be pub 
 lished without injury, referred to what she justly felt 
 was one of the highest historical authorities of our day, 
 and received from Mr. Macaulay the following answer : 
 
 "1847. 
 
 "DEAR MRS. SYDNEY SMITH, 
 
 "I am truly grateful to you for suffering me to see 
 the sketch of Irish history, drawn up by my admirable 
 and excellent friend. 1 perfectly understand the gener 
 ous feeling with which it was written, and I also think 
 that I see why it was never published. While the Cath 
 olic disabilities lasted, he whom we regret did all that he 
 could to awaken the conscience of the oppressors and to 
 
132 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 find excuses for the faults of the oppressed. When 
 these disabilities had been removed, and when design 
 ing men still attempted to inflame the Irish against 
 England, by repeating tales of grievances which had 
 passed away, he felt that this work would no longer 
 do any good, and that it might be used by demagogues 
 in such a way as to do positive harm. You will see, 
 from what I have said, that though I think this piece 
 honorable to his memory, I do not wish to see it pub 
 lished, nor do I think that, though it would raise the 
 reputation of almost any other writer of our time, it 
 would raise his ; in truth, nothing that is not of very 
 rare and striking merit ought now to be given to the 
 world under his name. He is universally admitted to 
 have been a great reasoner, and the greatest master of 
 ridicule that has appeared among us since Swift.* Many 
 things, therefore, which, if they came from an inferior 
 author, would be read with pleasure, will produce disap 
 pointment if published as works of Mr. Sydney Smith. 
 I return the papers with most sincere thanks. Believe 
 me ever, dear Mrs. Sydney Smith, yours very truly, 
 
 " T. B. MACAULAY." 
 
 My father had not long been established in his house 
 
 * I find my father here, and indeed in almost every sketch of him, 
 compared to Swift in the character of his Avritings. It is for others to 
 decide upon the justness of the comparison ; but. there is one difference 
 I ought, and I am proud to point out, that there is not a single line in 
 them that might not be placed before the purity of youth, or that is un 
 fit for the eye of a woman ; that he has exercised his powers of wit and 
 sarcasm to the utmost, without ever sullying his pages with impurities, 
 or degrading his talents and profession by irreligion ; and this, I believe, 
 can in very few instances be asserted of any other eminently humorous 
 writer, either French or English, who have used such powers to any 
 great extent. Lord John liussell, in writing of my father, says on this 
 subject: "Too much indulgence has been shown to the extravagance, 
 dishonesty, and domestic infidelity of men of wit, as if the light that 
 led astray was light from heaven. It is not light from heaven, but 
 flashes from a volcano which has its .seat in boll." 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. m 
 
 nt Hcslington before several of his old friends found him 
 out ; among* the first of these were Mr. Horner, Mr. 
 Murray, and Mr. Adams. In August Mr. Abercrombie 
 
 and his family spent a few days with him, which gave 
 him much pleasure ; and he had also a visit from Lord 
 Webb Seymour, one of the friends with whom he had 
 lived most intimately at Edinburgh, and whose early 
 death was a source of deep regret to him. 
 
 He made the resolution, when he settled in. the coun 
 try, never to shoot ; " first," he says, " because I found, 
 on trying at Lord Grey s, that the birds seemed to con 
 sider the muzzle of my gun as their safest position ; sec 
 ondly, because I never could help shutting my eyes 
 when I fired my gun, so was not likely to improve ; 
 and thirdly, because, if you do shoot, the squire and 
 the poacher both consider you as their natural enemy, 
 and I thought it more clerical to be at peace with both." 
 
 In 1810 my father had the pleasure of receiving his 
 old and valued friend, Sir Samuel Eomilly, and his fam 
 ily ; and so deep was his veneration for the unbending 
 virtue of this great man, that it was one not easily for 
 gotten. No two men were ever more unlike, or pursued 
 the same ends by such different paths ; yet they had 
 many feelings in common, and a total absence, of all 
 those littlenesses which sometimes obscure and alienate 
 even great men. I remember Sir Samuel w^ent with my 
 father to see Castle Howard, at which he gazed with 
 great admiration, and after a long pause, standing on 
 the steps of the portico and looking toward the mauso 
 leum and at the lovely landscape around, he exclaimed, 
 spreading out his arms, "These are indeed things that 
 must make death terrible!" 
 
 Some years after, my father introduced the following 
 passage, on the recent death of Sir Samuel Horn illy, 
 into a sermon on the subject of Meditation on Death, 
 
134 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 and as it lias not been published, I shall insert it here, 
 as a proof of his feelings toward that eminent man : 
 
 " And let me ask you, my brethren, we who see the 
 good and great daily perishing before our eyes, what 
 comfort have we but this hope in Christ that we shall 
 meet again ? Eemember the eminent men who, within 
 the few years last past, have paid the great debt of na 
 ture. The earth stripped of its moral grandeur, sunk 
 in its spiritual pride. The melancholy wreck of talents 
 and of wisdom gone, my brethren, when, we feel how 
 dear, how valuable they were to us, when we would 
 have asked of God on our bended knees their preser 
 vation and their life. Can we live with all that is ex 
 cellent in human nature, can we study it, can we con 
 template it, and then lose it and never hope to see it 
 
 again ? 
 
 " Can we say of any human being, as we may say 
 of that great man who was torn from us in the begin 
 ning of this winter, that he acted with vast capacity 
 upon all the great calamities of life ; that he came with 
 unblemished purity to restrain iniquity ; that, condemn 
 ing injustice, he was just ; that, restraining corruption, 
 he was pure ; that those who were provoked to look into 
 the life of a great statesman, found him a good man 
 also, and acknowledged he was sincere even when they 
 did not believe he was right ? Can we say of such a 
 man, with all the career of worldly ambition before him, 
 that he was the friend of the wretched and the poor ; 
 that in the midst of vast occupation he remembered the 
 debtor s cell, the prisoner s dungeon, the last hour of 
 the law s victim ; that he meditated day and night on 
 wretchedness, weakness, and want ? Can we say all 
 this of any human being, and then have him no more 
 in remembrance ? When you die daily, my brethren ; 
 
MEMOill OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 105 
 
 when you remember my text, paint to yourselves the 
 gathering together again of the good and the just. 
 
 "Remember that God is to be worshiped, that death 
 is to be met, by such a life as this ; remember, in the 
 last hour, that rank, that birth, that wealth, that all 
 earthly things will vanish away, that you will then 
 think only of the wretchedness you have lessened arid 
 the good you have done." 
 
 I see, by letters in my possession, that on the pub 
 lication of Sir Samuel s Life by his sons, my father s 
 letter of warm admiration was the first received by the 
 family ; and the terms in which they speak of the A r alue 
 of my father s praise is highly gratifying to those who 
 love his memory. 
 
 My father had by this time made a considerable ac 
 quaintance in and round York. Dining out on one oc 
 casion, he happened to meet Mr. , whom he always 
 met with pleasure, as he was a man of sense, simplicity, 
 and learning ; and with such a total absence, not only 
 of humor in himself, but in his perception of it in others, 
 as made him an amusing subject of speculation to my 
 father. 
 
 The conversation at dinner took a liberal turn. My 
 father, in the full career of his spirits, happened to say, 
 "Though he was not generally considered an illiberal 
 man, yet he must confess he had one little weakness, 
 one secret wish he should like to roast a Quaker" 
 
 "Good heavens, Mr. Smith!" said Mr. - , full of 
 horror, "roast a Quaker?" "Yes, sir" (with the great 
 est gravity), "roast a Quaker!" "But do you con 
 sider, Mr. Smith, the torture?" "Yes, sir," said my 
 father, "I have considered every thing; it may be 
 wrong, as you say : the Quaker would undoubtedly 
 
ISO MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 suffer acutely, but every one has his tastes mine 
 would Ibc to roast a Quaker : one would satisfy me, 
 only one ; but it is one of those peculiarities I have 
 striven against in vain, and I hope you will pardon my 
 weakness." 
 
 Mr. s honest simplicity could stand this no 
 
 longer, and he seemed hardly able to sit at table with 
 him. The whole company were in roars of laughter at 
 the scene ; but neither this, nor the mirth and mischief 
 sparkling in my father s eye, enlightened him in the 
 least, for a joke was a thing of which he had no concep 
 tion. At last my father, seeing that he was giving real 
 pain, said, " Come, come, Mr. , since you think this 
 so very illiberal, I must be wrong ; and will give up my 
 roasted Quaker rather than your esteem ; let us drink 
 wine together." Peace was made, but I believe neither 
 time nor explanation would have ever made him com 
 prehend that it was a joke. 
 
 Though it was the general habit in Yorkshire to make 
 visits of two or three days at the houses in the neighbor 
 hood, yet not unfrequently invitations to dinner only 
 came, and sometimes to a house at a considerable dis 
 tance. 
 
 "Did you ever dine out in the country?" said my 
 father; "what misery human beings inflict on each 
 other under the name of pleasure ! We went to dine 
 last Thursday with Mr. , a neighboring clergyman, 
 a haunch of venison being the stimulus to the invitation. 
 We set out at five o clock, drove in a broiling sun on 
 dusty roads three miles in our best gowns, found Squire 
 and parsons assembled in a small hot room, the whole 
 house redolent of frying ; talked, as is our wont, of roads, 
 weather, and turnips ; that done, began to grow hungry, 
 then serious, then impatient. At last a stripling, evi 
 dently caught up for the occasion, opened the door and 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 137 
 
 beckoned our host out of the room. After some mo 
 ments of awful suspense, he returned to us with a face 
 of much distress, saying, the woman assisting in the 
 kitchen had mistaken the soup for dirty water, and had 
 thrown it away, so we must do without it ; we all 
 agreed it was perhaps as well we should, under the cir 
 cumstances. At last, to our joy, dinner was announced ; 
 but oh, ye gods ! as we entered the dining-room what a 
 gale met our nose ! the venison was high, the venison 
 was uneatable, and was obliged to follow the soup with 
 all speed. 
 
 "Dinner proceeded, but our spirits flagged under 
 these accumulated misfortunes : there was an ominous 
 pause between the first and second course ; we looked 
 each other in the face what new disaster awaited us ? 
 the pause became fearful. At last the door burst open, 
 and the boy rushed in, calling out aloud, Please, sir, 
 has Betty any right to leather I ? What human graV- 
 ity could stand this ? We roared with laughter ; all took 
 part against Betty, obtained the second course with some 
 difficulty, bored each other the usual time, ordered our 
 carriages, expecting our post-boys to be drunk, and were 
 grateful to Providence for not permitting them to deposit 
 us in a wet ditch. So much for dinners in the country ! " 
 
 This winter he had another visit from his friend 
 Jeffrey, w r ho came with an American gentleman, Mr. 
 Simond, and his niece, Miss Wilkes. We little sus 
 pected then that this lady, great-niece to the agitator 
 Wilkes, was so soon, after to become Mrs. Jeffrey. We 
 had also visits from Mr. Horner, Mr. Murray, and Lord 
 Laudcrdale. My father used to say of Mr. Horner that 
 he had the Ten Commandments written on his face ; 
 in fact, that he looked so virtuous, that he might com 
 mit any crime, and no one would believe in the possi 
 bility of his guilt. 
 
138 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 It was, I believe, in 1812 that my father s eldest 
 brother Robert, who had gone out to India, as Advocate- 
 General of Bengal eight years before, returned with his 
 wife and family to this country a return we had all 
 been eagerly looking forward to. Before leaving India, 
 my uncle had with great generosity offered to remain 
 there another year, and to bestow the proceeds of his 
 office on my father; but my father, poor as he was, 
 fearing the effects of the climate on his brother, and 
 knowing his ardent desire to return to England, with 
 equal generosity refused, without a moment s hesita 
 tion, to accept of such a sacrifice. We went to their 
 house in town to meet them, and spent some weeks 
 there. 
 
 My father was received with open arms by all his 
 old friends ; and the pleasure and interest of this visit 
 to his old haunts was much enhanced by the arrival of 
 his friend Sir James Mackintosh, likewise from India, 
 after an absence from England of about the same time. 
 lie had arrived on the eve of a general election, and 
 during the excitement of political changes consequent 
 upon the murder of Mr. Pcrcival, and the attempt to 
 form a Ministry under Lord Wellesley. 
 
 In the summer Sir James went with Lady Mackin 
 tosh to the Highlands, and on their return spent some 
 days with my father at Heslington. In the autumn of 
 the following year, Madame de Stael, driven from Copet 
 by the persecutions of Napoleon, took refuge in England, 
 and was the object of general interest and attention. 
 She was constantly in the society of Sir James Mackin 
 tosh, and having heard much of my father, and of his 
 powers of conversation and argument, she was eager to 
 make his acquaintance, and try her eloquence upon him. 
 She used frequently to say to Sir James, with the odd 
 jumble she made of English titles and names, "Mais, 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 139 
 
 votre ami Sydney Smith, ce Pretre-Amiral, pourquoi nc 
 vient-il pas ?" 
 
 The Pretre-Amiral was unable to leave his parish dur 
 ing her visit here, so they never met ; but she took her 
 revenge some years after at Nice, where she made the 
 acquaintance of my father s elder brother Hobert, whose 
 wonderful powers of argument and exquisite French she 
 reveled in through a whole winter; though often de 
 feated by him in discussions, to the delight of all the 
 English staying there, whom she had bullied terribly 
 before his arrival, and who looked up to him as a sort 
 of champion. "Ah ! pourquoi nc parlez-vous pas comme 
 9a dans la Chambrc des Communes ?" said Madame de 
 Stael to him one day, after listening for some time to 
 the eloquent flow of his language. Mr. Canning used 
 to say, " Bobus s language is the essence of English." 
 
 Sir James Mackintosh, speaking of him in India, says, 
 " I hear frequently of Bobus ; his fame among the na 
 tives is greater than that of any pundit since the days 
 of Menu." 
 
 The following year my uncle came down with his 
 family to visit us in Yorkshire, and remained a month 
 with us. On his return to Northampton, a typhus fever 
 attacked his family with most fearful and fatal results, 
 then the nurse, and lastly himself. My aunt, in commu 
 nicating these dreadful tidings, entreated my father to 
 come to their aid, and, after taking medical advice as to 
 the best precautions against infection, he set off, in spite 
 of my mother s earnest entreaties, without a moment s 
 hesitation. 
 
 An intimate friend, who was staying with us at the 
 time, and present at this scene, tells me, "Nothing in 
 my long knowledge of him ever gave me a higher idea 
 of your father s generosity of character and firmness of 
 principle than this act; for, in addition to his knowl- 
 
140 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 edge how dependent you all were upon him, and that 
 your mother was near her confinement, he went, not 
 ignorant of, or despising, the danger, "but with his 
 eyes open to it, fearing it very much, and fully believ 
 ing he was going to meet death. But in spite of his 
 own fears and your poor mother s efforts, he resisted, 
 and said, If any evil were to happen to Bobus, I should 
 reproach myself all my life; but, added he, Kate, 
 mind, if I do die, you must always keep the day of my 
 death. " 
 
 He remained with my uncle some weeks, until he had 
 the satisfaction of leaving him convalescent, and com 
 fortably established in a house near Northampton, under 
 the care of the most eminent physician there, Dr. Carr, 
 uncle to Lady Davy ; and of returning in safety to my 
 poor mother, whose anxiety during this period may easily 
 be imagined. 
 
 Among our rural delights at Heslington was the pos 
 session of a young donkey, which had been given up to 
 our tender mercies from the time of its birth, and in 
 whose education we employed a large portion of our 
 spare time ; and a most accomplished donkey it became 
 under our tuition. It would walk up stairs, pick pock 
 ets, follow us in our walks like a huge Newfoundland 
 dog, and at the most distant sight of us in the field, with 
 ears down and tail erect, it set off in full bray to meet 
 us. These demonstrations on Bitty s part were met 
 with not less affection on ours, and Bitty was almost 
 considered a member of the family. 
 
 One day, when my elder brother and myself were 
 training our beloved Bitty, with a pocket-handker 
 chief for a bridle, and his head crowned with flowers, 
 to run round our garden, who should arrive in the 
 midst of our sport but Mr. Jeffrey. Finding my father 
 out, he, with his usual kindness toward young peo- 
 
MEMOllt OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. in 
 
 pie, immediately joined in our sport, and, to our in 
 finite delight, mounted our donkey. He was proceed 
 ing in triumph, amidst our shouts of laughter, when 
 my father and mother, in company, I believe, with 
 Mr. Horner and Mr. Murray, returned from their walk, 
 and beheld this scene from the garden-door. Though 
 years and years have passed away since, I still re 
 member the joy-inspiring laughter that burst from my 
 father at this unexpected sight, as, advancing toward 
 his old friend, with a face beaming with delight and 
 with extended hands, he broke forth in the following 
 impromptu : 
 
 " Witty as Horatius Flaccus, 
 As great a Jacobin as Gracchus; 
 Short, though not as fat, as Bacchus, 
 Hiding on a little jackass." 
 
 These lines were afterward repeated by some one 
 to Mr. - - at Holland House, just before he was in 
 troduced for the first time to Mr. Jeffrey, and they 
 caught his fancy to such a degree that he could not get 
 them out of his head, but kept repeating them in a low 
 voice all the time Mr. Jeffrey was conversing with him. 
 
 I must end Bitty s history, as he has been introduced, 
 by saying that he followed us to Foston ; and, after 
 serving us faithfully for thirteen years, on our leaving 
 Yorkshire was permitted by our kind friend Lord Car 
 lisle to spend the rest of his days in idleness and plenty, 
 in his beautiful park, with an unbounded command of 
 thistles. 
 
 My father meanwhile had entered into various nego 
 tiations with different clergymen to effect an exchange 
 of livings, but the conditions imposed by Lord Eldon 
 had hitherto prevented them from being carried into 
 effect. 
 
142 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 He continued, therefore, to drive over every week 
 to do duty at his living. One Sunday (to show the 
 very primitive state of the villagers), just as he was 
 about to enter the church, there was a general rush of 
 the clerk, the sexton, the churchwardens, and principal 
 farmers after him, who, with agitated countenances, ex 
 claimed, "Please your honor, a coach, a coach!" My 
 father, with a calmness that filled them with wonder, 
 said, "Well, well, my good friends, stand firm, never 
 mind ; even though there should be a coach, it will do 
 us no harm ; let us see." And certainly a carriage 
 was seen approaohing, such as rarely appeared in those 
 parts ; and as it advanced rapidly toward the little mis 
 erable hovel which had once been the parsonage-house, 
 it was discovered to contain a very fashionable lady. 
 The lady turned out to be Mrs. Apreece, on her way 
 from Scotland, bringing letters of introduction to my 
 father, whom she was anxious to hear preach ; and this 
 was the beginning of an acquaintance which after 
 ward ripened into intimacy, and several of the most 
 amusing of his letters are addressed to her, under her 
 more celebrated name of Lady Davy. She and Sir 
 Humphry in after-times not unfrequently put up at the 
 Rector s Head (as my father used to call his house), 
 and no landlord could rejoice more in "a run on the 
 road," or more cordially welcome the sight of an old 
 friend. 
 
CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 Builds House. Removes to Foston. Description of Establishment. 
 Visit of Sir James Mackintosh. Becomes a Magistrate. Visit to 
 Newgate with Mrs. Fry, and Sermon. Visit to Sir G. Philips in 
 Immortal. Forms the Acquaintance of the Earl of Carlisle. Death 
 of only Sister. Last Visit of Mr. Homer. Bad Harvest and Fever. 
 Exertions among the Poor. Visit from Lord and Lady Holland. 
 Leaves off Hiding. Description of Calamity. Shopping and Anec 
 dotes. Sends Son to School. Visits Lord Grey. Account of 
 Travels. Visit from Dr. Marcet. Conversation, and Bunch. In 
 scription for Duke of Bedford s Statue. Anecdote of Lord s 
 
 Son. Assizes. Hunt s Trial. Danger of bad Harvest. Death of 
 G rattan. 
 
 THUS cheered by these occasional visits of his friends, 
 turning his back upon London and former habits, by 
 the aid of books and of the various new duties and in 
 terests he had created for himself, he contrived to pass 
 through three years not unpleasantly or unprofitably ; 
 but, not having succeeded in his object of exchange, 
 lie, according to his promise to the Archbishop, set 
 vigorously to work to build his house, and accomplished 
 it in nine months after laying the first stone. But lie 
 shall here tell his own tale, as I have heard it at various 
 times in detached portions. 
 
 "A diner-out, a wit, and a popular preacher, I was 
 suddenly caught up by the Archbishop of York, and 
 transported to my living in Yorkshire, where there had 
 not been a resident clergyman for a hundred and fifty 
 years. Fresh from London, not knowing a turnip from 
 a carrot, I was compelled to farm three hundred acres, 
 and without capital to build a parsonage-house. 
 
 "I asked and obtained three years leave from the 
 
U-i MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 Archbishop, in order to effect an exchange, if possible ; 
 and fixed myself meantime at a small village two miles 
 from York, in which w r as a fine old house of the time 
 of Queen Elizabeth, where resided the last of the squires, 
 with his lady, who looked as if she had walked straight 
 out of the Ark, or had been the wife of Enoch. He 
 was a perfect specimen of the Trullibers of old ; he 
 smoked, hunted, drank beer at his door with his grooms 
 and dogs, and spelt over the county paper on Sundays. 
 
 " At first, he heard I w r as a Jacobin and a dangerous 
 fellow, and turned aside as I passed : but at length, 
 when he found the peace of the village undisturbed, 
 harvests much as usual, Juno and Ponto uninjured, he 
 first bowed, then called, and at last reached such a 
 pitch of confidence that he used to bring the papers, 
 that I might explain the difficult words to him ; actual 
 ly discovered that I had made a joke, laughed till I 
 thought he would have died of convulsions, and ended 
 by inviting me to see his dogs. 
 
 "All my efforts for an exchange having failed, I 
 asked and obtained from my friend the Archbishop an 
 other year to build in. And I then set my shoulder to 
 the wheel in good earnest ; sent for an architect ; he 
 produced plans which would have ruined me. I made 
 him my bow: You build for glory, sir; I, for use. 
 I returned him his plans, with five-and-twenty pounds, 
 and sat down in my thinking-chair, and in a few hours 
 Mrs. Sydney and I concocted a plan which has pro 
 duced what I call the model of parsonage-houses. 
 
 "I then took to horse to provide bricks and timber; 
 was advised to make my own bricks, of my own clay ; 
 of course, when the kiln was opened, all bad ; mounted 
 my horse again, and in twenty-four hours had bought 
 thousands of bricks and tons of timber. Was advised 
 by neighboring gentlemen to employ oxen : bought four 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. Ho 
 
 Tug and Lug, Hawl and Crawl; but Tug and Lug 
 took to fainting, and required buckets of sal-volatile, 
 and Hawl and Crawl to lie down in the mud. So I 
 did as I ought to have done at first took the advice 
 of the farmer instead of the gentleman ; sold my oxen, 
 bought a team of horses, and at last, in spite of a frost 
 which delayed me six weeks, in spite of walls running 
 down with wet, in spite of the advice and remonstrances 
 of friends who predicted our death, in spite of an infant 
 of six months old, who had never been out of the house, 
 I landed my family in my new house nine months after 
 laying the first stone, on the 20th of March ; and per 
 formed my promise to the letter to the Archbishop, by 
 issuing forth at midnight with a lantern to meet the last 
 cart, with the cook, and the cat, which had stuck in the 
 mud, and fairly established them before twelve o clock 
 at night in the new parsonage-house a feat, taking 
 ignorance, inexperience, and poverty into consideration, 
 requiring, I assure you, no small degree of energy. 
 
 " It made me a very poor man for many years, but 
 I never repented it. I turned schoolmaster, to educate 
 my son, as I could not afford to send him to school. 
 Mrs. Sydney turned schoolmistress, to educate my girls, 
 as I could not afford a governess. I turned farmer, as 
 I could not let my land. A man-servant was too ex 
 pensive ; so I caught up a little garden-girl, made like 
 a milestone, christened her Bunch, put a napkin in her 
 hand, and made her my butler. The girls taught her 
 to read, Mrs. Sydney to wait, and I undertook her 
 morals ; Bunch became the best butler in the county. 
 
 "I had little furniture, so I bought a cart-load of 
 deals ; took a carpenter (who came to me for parish rr- 
 lief, called Jack Robinson), with a face like a full-moon, 
 into my service ; established him in a barn, and said, 
 Jack, furnish my house. You see the result! 
 VOL. I. G 
 
146 MEMOIU OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 " At last it was suggested that a carriage was much 
 wanted in the establishment ; after diligent search, I 
 discovered in the back settlements of a York coach- 
 maker an ancient green chariot, supposed to have been 
 
 the earliest invention of the kind. I "brought it home 
 
 o 
 
 in triumph to my admiring family. Being somewhat 
 dilapidated, the village tailor lined it, the village black 
 smith repaired it; nay (but for Mrs. Sydney s earnest 
 entreaties), we believe the village painter would have 
 exercised his genius upon the exterior ; it escaped this 
 danger, however, and the result w^as wonderful. Each 
 year added to its charms : it grew younger and younger; 
 a new wheel, a new spring; I christened it the Im 
 mortal / it was known all over the neighborhood ; the 
 village boys cheered it, and the village dogs barked at 
 it ; but Faber mere fortune was iny motto, and we 
 had no false shame. 
 
 " Added to all these domestic cares, I was village 
 parson, village doctor, village comforter, village magis 
 trate, and Edinburgh Reviewer ; so you see I had not 
 much time left on my hands to regret London. 
 
 "My house was considered the ugliest in the county, 
 but all admitted it was one of the most comfortable ; 
 and we did not die, as our friends had predicted, of the 
 damp walls of the parsonage/ 
 
 This year (1813) was one of great exertion and anx 
 iety to him, both in body and mind ; he calculated that 
 in the course of it he must have ridden several times 
 round the world, in going backward and forward from 
 Ileslington. to his living, as the offices of architect, 
 superintendent of the works, farmer, clergyman, school 
 master, were all centred in his person ; while, to add to 
 his anxieties and responsibilities, in September of this 
 year another son was born to him. 
 
 Soon after engaging on the building of his house, the 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 117 
 
 Archbishop, who had been made more fully aware of 
 the difficulties of my father s situation, through the kind 
 intervention of Mr. Harcourt and other friends, sent my 
 father most unexpectedly his formal permission to avoid 
 building. On hearing this, my father received many 
 letters of remonstrance from Mr. Allen, and his kind 
 friends at Holland House, who always hoped that some 
 exchange might turn up to restore him again to the 
 south ; and indeed were constantly making exertions to 
 accomplish this object ; but as the negotiations failed, 
 I have not named them. They were most unwilling 
 that he should embark in an undertaking which they 
 knew would hamper him for so many years to come. 
 But my father felt it was his duty to himself, to his 
 parish, and to the Archbishop, whose indulgence it 
 would be base to abuse ; and being thoroughly con 
 vinced of this, he persevered, in spite of this strong- 
 temptation ; though the necessity of making farm-build 
 ings, as well as a house, absorbed not only all his avail 
 able capital, but left him with a heavy debt besides. 
 
 At last, however, the deed was done, and I well re 
 member the landing at Foston, March, 1814. Indeed 
 how should I forget it? a day of such difficulty, dis 
 comfort, bustle, and delight, seldom occurs twice in one 
 life. 
 
 It was a cold, bright March day, with a biting cast 
 wind. The beds we left in the morning had to be 
 packed up and slept on at night ; wagon after wagon 
 of furniture poured in every minute ; the roads were so 
 cut up that the carriage could not reach the door ; and 
 my mother lost her shoe in the mud, which was ankle- 
 deep, while bringing her infant up to the house in her 
 arms. 
 
 But oh, the shout of joy as we entered and took pos 
 session ! the first time in our lives that we had in- 
 
148 MEMOIlt OE THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 habited a house of our own. How we admired it, ugly 
 as it was ! With what pride my dear father welcomed 
 us, and took us from room to room ; old Molly Mills, 
 the milk-woman, who had had charge of the house, 
 grinning with delight in the background. We thought 
 it a palace ; yet the drawing-room had no door, the 
 bare plaster walls ran down with wet, the windows were 
 like ground-glass from the moisture which had to be 
 wiped up several times a day by the housemaid. No 
 carpets, no chairs, nothing unpacked ; rough men bring 
 ing in rougher packages at every moment. But then 
 was the time to behold my father! amidst the con 
 fusion, he thought for every body, cared for every body, 
 encouraged every body, kept every body in good-humor. 
 How he exerted himself! how his loud, rich voice might 
 be heard in all directions, ordering, arranging, explain 
 ing, till the household storm gradually subsided ! Each 
 half-hour improved our condition ; fires blazed in every 
 room ; at last we all sat down to our tea, spread by 
 ourselves on a huge package Ibefore the drawing-room 
 fire, sitting on boxes round it ; and retired to sleep on 
 our beds placed on the floor the happiest, merriest, 
 and busiest family in Christendom. In a few days, 
 under my father s active exertions, every thing was ar 
 ranged with tolerable comfort in the little household, 
 and it began to assume its wonted appearance. 
 
 In speaking of the establishment of Foston, Annie 
 Kay must not be forgotten. She entered our service at 
 nineteen years of age, but possessing a degree of sense 
 a hd lady-like feeling not often found in her situation of 
 life first as nurse, then as lady s-maid, then house 
 keeper, apothecary s boy, factotum, and friend. All who 
 have been much at Foston or Combe Florey know Annie 
 Kay; she was called into consultation on every family 
 event, and proved herself a worthy oracle. Her coun- 
 
MEMOIlt OF THE KEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 149 
 
 sels were delivered in the softest voice, with the sweet 
 est smile, and in the broadest Yorkshire. She ended 
 by nursing her old master through his long and painful 
 illness, night and day ; she was with him at his death ; 
 she followed him to his grave ; she was remembered in 
 his will ; she survived him but two years, which she 
 spent in my mother s house ; and, after her long and 
 faithful service of thirty years, was buried by my moth 
 er in the same cemetery as her master, respected and 
 lamented by all his family, as the most faithful of serv 
 ants and friends. 
 
 So much for the interior of the establishment. Out- 
 of-doors reigned Molly Mills cow, pig, poultry, gar 
 den, and post woman ; with her short red petticoat,- her 
 legs like millpests, her high cheek-bones red and shriv 
 eled like winter apples; a perfect specimen of a "yeo- 
 woman ;" a sort of kindred spirit, too ; for she was the 
 wit of the village, and delighted in a crack with her 
 master, w T hen she could get it. She was as important 
 in her vocation as Annie Kay in hers ; and Molly here, 
 and Molly there, might be heard in every direction. 
 Molly "was always merry, willing, active, and true as 
 gold ; she had little book-learning, but enough to bring- 
 up two fine athletic sons, as honest as herself; though, 
 unlike her, they were never seen to smile, but were as 
 solemn as two owls, and would, not have said a civil 
 thing to save their lives. They ruled the farm. Add 
 to these the pet donkey, Bitty, already introduced to 
 the public ; a tame fawn, at last dismissed for eating the 
 maid s clothes, which he preferred to any other diet ; and 
 a lame goose, condemned at last to be roasted for eating 
 all the fruit in the garden ; together with Bunch and 
 Jack Robinson, already mentioned and you have the 
 establishment. 
 
 As magistrates were- much wanted in our neighbor- 
 
150 MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 hood, my father had now, in addition to his numerous 
 avocations, taken upon himself the duties of a Justice 
 of the Peace. He set vigorously to work to study Black- 
 stone, and made himself master of as much law as pos 
 sible, instead of blundering on, as many of his neigh 
 bors were content to do. Partly by this knowledge, 
 partly by his good-humor, he gained a considerable in 
 fluence in the quorum, which used to meet once a fort 
 night at the little inn, called the Lobster-house ; and the 
 people used to say they were "going to get a little of 
 Mr. Smith s lobster-sauce." By dint of his powerful 
 voice, and a little w^ooden hammer, he prevailed on Bob 
 and Betty to speak qne at a time ; he always tried, and 
 often succeeded, in turning foes into friends. Having 
 a horror of the Game law r s, then in full force, and know 
 ing, as lie states in his speech on the Reform Bill, 
 that for every ten pheasants which fluttered in the wood 
 one English peasant was rotting in jail, he was always 
 secretly on the side of the poacher (much to the indig 
 nation of his fellow-magistrates, who in a poacher saw 
 a monster of iniquity), and always contrived, if possi 
 ble, to let him escape, rather than commit him to jail, 
 with the certainty of his returning to the world an ac 
 complished villain. He endeavored to avoid exercis 
 ing his function as magistrate in his own village when 
 possible, as he wished to be at peace with all his parish 
 ioners. 
 
 Young delinquents he never could bear to commit ; 
 but read them a severe lecture, and in extreme cases 
 called out, "John, bring me my private gallows /" 
 which infallibly brought the little urchins weeping on 
 their knees, and, "Oh! for God s sake, your honor, 
 pray forgive us !" and his honor used graciously to par 
 don them for this time, and delay the arrival of the pri 
 vate gallows, and seldom had occasion to repeat the 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 151 
 
 threat/* Indeed the subject of imprisonment occupied 
 his mind so much, that during a visit to town, hav 
 ing been much interested by the account of Mrs. Fry s 
 benevolent exertions in prisons, he requested permis 
 sion to accompany, her to Newgate ; and I have heard 
 him say he never felt more deeply affected or impressed 
 than by the beautiful spectacle he there witnessed ; it 
 made him, he said, weep like a child. In a sermon he 
 preached shortly after, he introduced the following pas 
 sage : 
 
 44 There is a spectacle which this town now exhibits, 
 that I will venture to call the most solemn, the most 
 Christian, the most affecting which any human being 
 ever witnessed. To see that holy woman in the midst 
 of the wretched prisoners ; to see them all calling earn 
 estly upon God, soothed by her voice, animated by 
 her look, clinging to the hem of her garment ; and wor 
 shiping her as the only being who has ever loved them, 
 or taught them, or noticed them, or spoken to them of 
 God ! This is the sight which breaks down the pageant 
 of the world ; which tells us that the short hour of 
 life is passing away, and that w^c must prepare by some 
 good deeds to meet God ; that it is time to give, to 
 pray, to comfort ; to go, like this blessed woman, and 
 do the work of our heavenly Saviour, Jesus, among 
 the guilty, among the broken-hearted and the sick, and 
 to labor in the deepest and darkest wretchedness of 
 life." 
 
 In February, 1815, we set out on a visit to the late 
 Sir George Philips ; and great was the generalship, 
 and various the contrivances to persuade the far-famed 
 Immortal to convey us all safely over Blackstone Edge, 
 a sort of Alps between Yorkshire and Lancashire, in 
 the depths of winter ; but under such a Hannibal, all 
 prospered, and the Immortal covered itself with glory. 
 
152 MEMOIR OF THE UEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 In this house we spent some weeks so agreeably 
 I believe, I may say, to both parties that the visit 
 was by mutual consent repeated every two or three 
 years. There was a constant succession of agreeable 
 guests ; and our kind host so reveled in my father s hu 
 mor, that he was incessantly stimulating him to attack 
 him, which my father certainly did most vigorously ; yet 
 I believe no one present enjoyed these attacks more than 
 Sir George himself, who laughed at them almost to ex 
 haustion. 
 
 After our return home, the chief event in the course 
 of the summer, which broke the even tenor of our lives, 
 was a first visit from our great neighbors, Lord and 
 Lady Carlisle. Though not begun iinder the most fa 
 vorable auspices, it must be mentioned in these simple 
 annals ; as from this visit proceeded not only much 
 agreeable society, but twenty years of such warm friend 
 ship ; such delicate, unvarying, unoppressive kindness; 
 such essential benefits, from every member of that fam 
 ily, both old and young, as must be always remembered 
 with gratitude by us, contributing as they did to the 
 pleasure and comfort of my father s life, and giving him 
 a command of books and society, which would other 
 wise have been quite out of his reach. 
 
 Our infant colony was still in so rude a state, that 
 roads, save for a cart, had hardly been thought of, when 
 suddenly a cry was raised, that a coach and four, with 
 outriders, was plunging about in the midst of a plowed 
 field near the house, and showing signals of distress. 
 Plowmen and plow-women were immediately sent off 
 to the rescue, and at last the gold coach (as Lady Car 
 lisle used to call it), which had mistaken the road, was 
 guided safely up to the house, and the kind old Lord 
 and Lady, not a little shaken, and a little cross at so 
 rough a reception, entered the parsonage ; but the shakes 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 153 
 
 were soon forgotten, and good-humor restored ; and after 
 some severe sarcasms on the state of the approach to 
 our house on the part of the old Earl, and promises of 
 amendment on the part of my father, Lord Carlisle* 
 drove off, and made us promise to come and stay with 
 him at Castle Howard. 
 
 This was the first and last difficulty he ever found 
 in coming to Foston. From this time a week seldom 
 passed without his driving over to occupy his snug cor 
 ner by the parsonage fireside, where his conversation 
 was so epigrammatic and full of anecdotes of past times, 
 that it was always a most agreeable half hour to old 
 and young. He never went away without leaving some 
 little gift in the shape of game, fruit, flowers, or other 
 tokens of kindness. 
 
 In 1816, my father lost his only sister, Maria, my 
 mother s earliest friend. Charming in mind and char 
 acter,! she had very delicate health, and lived unmarried 
 with her father at Bath ; my father was much attached 
 to her, and felt her loss severely. He says, in a letter, 
 "The loss of a person whom I would have cultivated 
 as a friend, if nature had not given her to me as a rela 
 tion, is a serious evil." We all went to see my grand 
 father in consequence of her death, and remained some 
 time with him. 
 
 On our return home, our poor friend Mr. Horner, 
 whose health had been gradually failing, and had given 
 great anxiety to all his friends, was condemned to go 
 and end his short but noble career in a foreign land; 
 and came to make his farewell visit to us at Foston, 
 where he was loved and valued as a brother. His mind 
 appeared more pure and beautiful than ever ; but it was 
 
 * Grandfather of the present Earl of Carlisle. 
 
 t Bobus used to say she had carried off all the good temper of the 
 family. 
 
 G* 
 
154 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 a melancholy visit, extinguishing all hope, for death, was 
 stamped on his brow. Yet, young as he was, his vir 
 tues had created, in the hearts of all who knew him, a 
 lasting monument of love and esteem, which death only 
 can destroy. My father says, in the sketch he wrote 
 of Mr. Horner, " There was in his look a calm, settled 
 love of all that was honorable and good an air of wis 
 dom and of sweetness ; you saw at once that he was a 
 great man, whom nature had intended for a leader of 
 human beings. You ranged yourself willingly under 
 his banners, and cheerfully submitted to his -sway." 
 He died at Pisa the following spring, attended by his 
 brother, and soothed by the frequent society and regard 
 of the Miss Aliens, his early friends, who happened to 
 be staying there : a death so mourned by his country, 
 that I see Sir James Mackintosh says, "Never was so 
 much honor paid in any age or nation to intrinsic claims 
 alone : a man of thirty-eight, of obscure birth, who never 
 filled an office, or had the power of obliging a single 
 living creature, and whose grand title to this distinction 
 from an English House of Commons was the belief of 
 his virtue." My father speaks of his feelings on this 
 loss, in the following letter to Mr. Hornet s younger 
 brother : 
 
 "Fosxox, March 23, 1817. 
 "MY DEAR SlR, 
 
 " I remember no misfortune of my life which I have 
 felt so deeply as the loss of your brother. I never saw 
 any man who combined together so much talent, worth, 
 and warmth of heart ; and we lived together in habits 
 of great friendship and affection for many years. I 
 shall always retain a most lively and affectionate re 
 membrance of him to the day of my death. We shall 
 be most happy to see you here if you can make us a 
 visit ; I shall always meet you with those sentiments 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 155 
 
 of regard and respect which are due to yourself, but 
 never without deep feelings of grief and emotion. 
 
 "God bless you! 
 
 " S. S. 
 
 " I beg of you to give my very kind regards to your 
 father and mother ; it is in vain to speak of their loss, 
 to write to them : I dare not do it." 
 
 And again, in a letter to Mr. Whishaw, he says : 
 
 "March 2(5, 1817. 
 
 " MY DEAR WHISHAW, 
 
 "I have received a melancholy fragment from poor 
 Homer a letter half finished at his death. I can not 
 say how much I was affected by it ; indeed, on looking 
 back on my own mind, I never remember to have felt 
 an event more deeply than his death. It is very requi 
 site that there should be a monument to Homer : it will 
 be some little satisfaction to us all." 
 
 And in another, he says : 
 
 " I say nothing of the great and miserable loss we 
 have all sustained. He will always live in our recollec 
 tion ; and it will be useful to us all, in the great occa 
 sions of life, to reflect how Homer would act and think 
 in them, if God had prolonged his life." 
 
 This year, 1816, from the failure of the harvest, the 
 distress among the poor was excessive. The wheat 
 was generally sprouted throughout the country, and 
 unfit for bread ; and good flour was not only dear, but 
 hardly to be procured. We, like our poorer neighbors, 
 being unable to afford it, were obliged to consume our 
 own sprouted wheat ; and w r c lived therefore a whole 
 year, without tasting bread, on thin, unleavened, sweet- 
 tasting cakes, like frost-bitten potatoes, baked on tins, 
 
150 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 the only way of using this damaged flour. The luxury 
 of returning to bread again can hardly be imagined 
 by those who have never been deprived of it. All 
 this bad food produced much illness among our poor 
 neighbors ; and a fever of a very dangerous and infec 
 tious kind broke out in our village. My father was 
 indefatigable in his exertions among them, going from 
 cottage to cottage, and providing them with food and 
 medicine, and seeing that they were properly attended 
 to : his medical skill stood him in good stead now. He 
 found it impossible at first to prevent the peasants from 
 crowding into the infected houses, till the number of 
 deaths so alarmed them, that at last he had equal diffi 
 culty in making them go at all, or in obtaining nurses 
 for the sick, or people even to convey the bodies to the 
 grave, till he shamed them into it, by threatening to be 
 come one of the bearers himself. 
 
 He was much struck by the heroic conduct of some 
 of the Quakers of the village, who, amidst the general 
 panic, were constant and active in their attention to the 
 sick. "Are you aware of the danger?" said my father. 
 " Oh, we have no fears ; we are in the hands of God, 
 thou knowest," was the reply. 
 
 During the summer, Lord and Lady Holland came 
 to look at the new parsonage-house, and pass judgment 
 upon it, in their way to the North. They left their eld 
 est daughter under my mother s care during their ab 
 sence, to our great happiness ; during whose stay, Mr. 
 Rogers spent a week at Foston, charming old and young 
 by his kindness and inexhaustible fund of anecdote. 
 Sir H. Davy, Mr. Warburton, and various others, also 
 found their way to the "Rector s Head" during the 
 summer. 
 
 My father at this period was in the habit of riding 
 a good deal, but, either from the badness of his horses 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 157 
 
 or the badness of his riding, or perhaps from "both (in 
 spite of his various ingenious contrivances to keep him 
 self in the saddle), he had several falls, and kept us in 
 continual anxiety. He writes, in a letter, "I used to 
 think a fall from a horse dangerous, but much expe 
 rience has convinced me to the contrary. I have had 
 six falls in two years, and just behave like the three 
 per cents when they fall I got up again, and am not 
 a bit the worse for it, any more than the stock in ques 
 tion." In speaking of this, he says, "I left off riding, 
 for the good of my parish and the peace of my family ; 
 for, somehow or other, my horse and I had a habit of 
 parting company. On one occasion I found myself sud 
 denly prostrate in the streets of York, much to the de 
 light of the Dissenters. Another time, my horse Ca 
 lamity flung me over his head into a neighboring par 
 ish, as if I had been a shuttlecock, and I felt grateful 
 it was not into a neighboring planet ; but as no harm 
 came of it, I might have persevered perhaps, if, on a 
 certain day, a Quaker tailor from a neighboring vil 
 lage, to which I had said I was going to ride, had not 
 taken it into his head to call, soon after my departure, 
 and request to see Mrs. Sydney. She instantly, con 
 ceiving I was thrown, if not killed, rushed down to 
 the man, exclaiming, Where is he? where is your 
 master ? is he hurt T The astonished and quaking 
 snip stood silent from surprise. Still more agitated 
 by his silence, she exclaimed, Is he hurt ? I insist 
 upon knowing the worst. Why, please, ma am, it is 
 only thy little bill, a very small account, I wanted thee 
 to settle^ replied he, in much surprise. After this, you 
 may suppose, I sold my horse ; however, it is some com 
 fort to know that my friend Sir George is one fall ahead 
 of me, and is certainly a worse rider. It is a great proof, 
 too, of the liberality of this county, where every body 
 
158 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 can ride as soon as they are born, that they tolerate me 
 at all." 
 
 The horse Calamity, whose name has been thus in 
 troduced, was the first-born of several young horses 
 bred on the farm, who turned out very fine creatures, 
 and gained him great glory, even among the know 
 ing farmers of Yorkshire ; but this first production was 
 certainly not encouraging. To his dismay, a huge, lank, 
 large-boned foal appeared, of chestnut color, and with 
 four white legs. It grew apace, but its bones became 
 more and more conspicuous ; its appetite was unbound 
 ed grass, hay, corn, beans, food moist and dry, were 
 all supplied in vain, and vanished down his throat with 
 incredible rapidity. He stood, a large living skele 
 ton, with famine written in his face, and my father 
 christened him Calamity. As Calamity grew to matu 
 rity, he was found to be as sluggish in disposition as 
 his master was impetuous ; so my father was driven 
 to invent his patent Tantalus, which consisted of a 
 small sieve of corn, suspended on a semicircular bar 
 of iron, from the ends of the shafts, just beyond the 
 horse s nose. The corn, rattling as the vehicle pro 
 ceeded, stimulated Calamity to unwonted exertions ; and 
 under the hope of overtaking this imaginary feed, lie did 
 more work than all the previous provender which had 
 been poured down his throat had been able to obtain 
 from him. 
 
 He was very fond of his young horses, and they all 
 came running to meet him when he entered the field. 
 He began their education from their birth : he taught 
 them to wear a girth, a bridle, a saddle, to meet flags, 
 music, to bear the firing of a pistol at their heads, from 
 their earliest years, and he maintained that no horses 
 were so well broken as his. 
 
 After our establishment at Foston, an old ladv, the 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 159 
 
 widow of an artist, a woman of some fortune, large di 
 mensions, considerable talents, and much oddity, came 
 to establish herself in a small cottage at no great dis 
 tance, and was so delighted with her neighbor, that she 
 kindly offered to drop in (as she said) frequently to tea. 
 My father, though the most sociable of human beings, 
 felt rather alarmed at this threatened invasion of his 
 privacy ; yet, unwilling to hurt the old lady, he at last 
 bethought himself of writing a most comical letter, full 
 of all sorts of imaginary facts, to her, accepting her offer, 
 only begging to have full notice of her approach : " for, 
 said he, " at home I sit in an old coat, which may have 
 a hole in it ; now I like to appear before you in my best. 
 When alone we have the black kettle, we should have 
 the urn for you ; Bunch would have on her clean apron 
 and her hair brushed, etc., etc." This answered very 
 well to both parties. But the tale goes further. The 
 good widow, ripe in years, at last died, leaving her prop 
 erty to an amiable young female friend, whom she had 
 adopted, and who thus became our neighbor. About 
 the same time, an Italian refugee, of very good family, 
 had come to settle at York, and most honorably endeav 
 ored to support himself by giving lessons in Italian. He 
 brought letters of introduction to my father from Lord 
 Holland, who had known him or his family in Italy. 
 We found him a man of talent, cultivation, and high 
 feeling, and the more we saw of him the more we liked 
 him. The Count and our neighbor frequently met at 
 our house, and seeming mutually to like each other, my 
 father thought it right to make further inquiries respect 
 ing the character of the former, and finding it most sat 
 isfactory, he promoted their intercourse, and it ended in 
 a marriage from our house. The evening before the 
 marriage, my father, fearing the poor Count, from the 
 necessary preparations for his marriage, might possibly 
 
16U MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 be in some little difficulty for his immediate necessities, 
 delicately offered to assist him ; Tbut, with a burst of 
 gratitude, in liis own beautiful tongue lie exclaimed joy 
 ously, " No, no ; thank God, I have paid every debt I 
 owed in the world, and have still this in my pocket 1" 
 holding forth half-a-crown. 
 
 He did not live very many years to enjoy his good 
 fortune, but we had frequent opportunities during that 
 period of hearing of their mutual happiness. 
 
 It was somewhere about this period, I believe, that, 
 by Lord Ossory s death, the living of Ampthill, then 
 vacant, came into his nephew, Lord Holland s, gift ; 
 and he immediately wrote, with his usual kindness, to 
 offer it to my father. But being untenable with Foston, 
 and of inferior value, my father was obliged to relinquish 
 what to him would have been a source of constant en 
 joyment, the vicinity to Lord Holland and to all his 
 early friends ; and to turn his mind, with renewed vigor, 
 to the growing necessities of his little northern colony, 
 which had suffered for the moment by this change of 
 prospects put before him. 
 
 Nothing was more amusing than to accompany my 
 father in a round of shopping, or providing for the ship, 
 as he called it. On entering a shop where he was known, 
 all were eager to serve him. Gradually, as he talked, 
 all other business was suspended, and you often saw 
 both customer and shop-boy forgetting their own busi 
 ness, and turning round to listen. In five minutes he 
 seemed to know more of each man s trade than he knew 
 himself, and had extracted from him, before he was 
 aware, not only all he meant to tell, but all he meant 
 to conceal ; and was off on his road again, laden with 
 useful knowledge, before the astonished burgher was 
 aware of the wisdom which had gone out of him. 
 
 One day, when we were on a visit at Bishopthorpe, 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. id 
 
 soon after lie Lad preached a visitation sermon, in wliicli, 
 among other things, he had recommended the clergy not 
 to devote too much time to shooting and hunting, the 
 Archbishop, who rode beautifully in his youth, and 
 knew full well my father s deficiencies in this respect, 
 said, smiling and evidently much amused, "I hear, 
 Mr. Smith, you do not approve of much riding for the 
 clergy?" u Why, my Lord," said my father, bowing 
 with assumed gravity, "perhaps there is not much ob 
 jection, provided they do not ride too well, and stick 
 out their toes professionally." Mr. M., a Catholic gen 
 tleman present, looked out of the window of the room 
 in which they were sitting. "Ah, I see, you think 
 you will get out," said my father, laughing, "but you 
 are quite mistaken ; this is the wing where the Arch 
 bishop shuts up the Catholics ; the other wing is full 
 of Dissenters." 
 
 Coming down one morning at Foston, I found Bunch 
 pacing up and down the passage before her master s 
 door, in a state of great perturbation. "What is the 
 matter, Bunch?" "Oh, ma am, I can t get no peace 
 of mind till I ve got master shaved, and he s so late this 
 morning; he s not come down yet." This getting master 
 shaved, consisted in making ready for him, with a large 
 painter s brush, a thick lather in a huge wooden bowl, 
 as big as Mambrino s helmet, which she always consid 
 ered as the most important avocation of the morning. 
 
 Johnson says, "The truly strong and sound mind 
 is the mind that can embrace equally great things and 
 small." If this definition be just, my father s mind 
 fully deserved these epithets, for he thought nothing 
 unworthy of his talents that could be improved by 
 them. "I dislike those large white blinds," I remem 
 ber he said on one occasion; "I can t afford painted 
 ones ; now, girls, why not try patchwork ? Get rich 
 
U12 MKMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 glazed cottons, combine your colors well, and select a 
 classical pattern, and I am sure the effect will be very 
 good." We exclaimed, laughed at him, remonstrated, 
 declared it would be hideous, but obeyed. Each took 
 a window ; and under my mother s skillful direction, 
 much to our own surprise, executed his idea with such 
 success that the Combe Florey and Foston blinds ex 
 cited universal admiration ; and there are many now 
 alive who, I daresay, remember them, and some who 
 imitated them. 
 
 In the summer, hearing that an old friend, a lawyer 
 of great eminence, witli his family, had been unexpect 
 edly detained at York by the dangerous illness of a near 
 relation, wdiile his two little girls were pining for fresh 
 air after the hooping-cough, which they had just had, 
 my father immediately insisted that they should be sent 
 to Foston, and intrusted to my mother s care. This 
 made us a little anxious, as he had never had the com 
 plaint himself: a rule therefore was made, that the dear 
 little girls were never to approach him nearer than arm 
 and stick length. I can see him even now, laughingly 
 warding them off, or running away from them in the 
 garden at Foston, to their great delight, while they pur 
 sued, and their bright young faces in merry conference 
 with him at the end of his stick. Years and years have 
 passed away since that time, and they, after having 
 grown up into that beauty of mind and body which so 
 fitted them for it, have long, long since, I will not say 
 sunk into their graves, but risen to that heaven, of 
 which their pure and blameless lives made all who knew 
 them feel they were so worthy. No evil ensued ; and 
 this little incident only served to cement still closer a 
 friendship of many years standing. I only allude to it 
 now to show my father s forgetfulness of self where his 
 heart was concerned. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. ]oy 
 
 He never indulged in any pleasures in which his fam 
 ily did not share. Passionately fond of books, he hardly 
 added one volume, through all his years of poverty, to 
 the precious little store he brought down with him from 
 London ; though without a Cyclopiedia, or many of those 
 books of reference, of which he so often felt the want in 
 his literary pursuits. These circumstances render yet 
 more remarkable all that he has said and done during 
 
 O 
 
 this period. When a present of books arrived (no very 
 unfrequcnt event) from some of his kind old friends, who 
 knew the pleasure it would afford, he was almost child 
 like in his delight, particularly if the binding was gay ; 
 and I have often been summoned (in my office of libra 
 rian, which I held, together with that of apothecary s 
 boy) to arrange and re-arrange them on the shelves, 
 in order to place them in the most conspicuous situa 
 tion. 
 
 We had all our offices : he appointed my sister (who, 
 from her talents, was well fitted for this office), to be 
 his Livy ; and we have often laughed over his siiffces- 
 
 / 7 o oo 
 
 tions as to how our domestic events ought to be record 
 ed for the advantage of posterity. But his Livy was 
 carried off too young, I fear, to have made any progress 
 in her history. My dear mother, from her skill in do 
 mestic economy, he christened Mrs. Balwhidder, in al 
 lusion to that pretty talc by Gait, called "Annals of 
 ihe Parish,* which he delighted in. Annie Kay was 
 prime minister ; in short, my father infused something 
 of his spirit into the most commonplace events of life, 
 and lie could not order even a dose of physic for his 
 carter but there was fun and originality in the act. 
 
 It is said that nobody could stand witli Burke under 
 a doorway in a shower of rain without finding him out 
 to be an extraordinary man : so, of my father, I have 
 heard it off on said that it was impossible to converse 
 
164 MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 with him for five minutes, and not feel he was not like 
 other men. I have seen him melt an exquisite of the 
 first water, in a most amusing manner. Being very 
 punctual (too punctual indeed it was the only virtue 
 he made disagreeable), he not unfrequently arrived to 
 dinner before the lady of the house was dressed, and 
 received her company for her. A dandy would appear 
 all glorious without, whose neckcloth, shirt, and white 
 gloves were unimpeachable, and the evident result of 
 profound study ; and who, not having been introduced, 
 of course, in true English style, appeared unconscious 
 that another mortal was in the same room with him. 
 My father, whose neckcloth always looked like a pud 
 ding tied round his throat, and the arrangement of whose 
 garments seemed more the result of accident than design 
 (yet, I ought to add, as I am now writing for those who 
 knew him not, always looked like a gentleman, in its 
 best sense that is, as one who deserved respect), eyed 
 him calmly for a minute, as if to take his measure, then 
 addressed him. The dandy started, and bowed stiffly 
 over his neckcloth. The second observation made him 
 evidently say to himself, " Can that observation come 
 out of that neckcloth ?" The third convinced him there 
 was something better, or at least equal to neckcloths 
 in the world ; and by the time the lady of the house 
 arrived they had sworn eternal friendship. 
 
 In the summer of this year, 1817, my uncle and his 
 family joined us for a month at Scarborough, and after 
 ward returned with us to Foston ; and it was during 
 this visit that, finding my father quite unable to afford 
 sending his eldest son, Douglas, to school, he most 
 kindly offered to assist him. Not thinking himself just 
 ified in refusing Douglas so great an advantage, my fa 
 ther accepted a hundred a year for this purpose ; and 
 in the following year placed him at Westminster school, 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 105 
 
 which lie quitted some years after with great distinc 
 tion, as Captain of the College. 
 
 In 1820 my father went on a visit of a few days to 
 Lord Grey s ; then to Edinburgh to see Jeffrey and his 
 other old friends ; and returned "by Lord Lauderdale s 
 house at Dtinbar. Speaking of this journey, he says, 
 "Most people sulk in stage-coaches, I always talk. I 
 have had some amusing journeys from this habit. On 
 one occasion, a gentleman in the coach with me, with 
 whom I had been conversing for some time, suddenly 
 looked out of the window as we approached York and 
 said, There is a very clever man, they say, but a d s 
 odd fellow, lives near here Sydney Smith, I believe. 
 He may be a very odd fellow, said I, taking off my 
 hat to him and laughing, and I dare say he is ; but 
 odd as he is, he is here, very much at your service. 
 Poor man ! I thought he would have sunk into his 
 boots, and vanished through the bed of the carriage, he 
 was so distressed ; but I thought I had better tell him 
 at once, or he might proceed to say I had murdered my 
 grandmother, which I must have resented, you know. 
 
 " On another occasion some years later, when going 
 to Brougham Hall, two raw Scotch girls got into the 
 coach in the dark, near Carlisle. It is very disagree 
 able getting into a coach in the dark, exclaimed one, 
 after arranging her bandboxes ; one can not see one s 
 company. Very true, ma am, and you have a great 
 loss in not seeing me, for I am a remarkably handsome 
 man. No, sir! are you really? said both. Yes, 
 and in the flower of my youth. What a pity! said 
 they. We soon passed near a lamp-post : they both 
 darted forward to get a look at me. La, sir, you seem 
 very stout. Oh no, not at all, ma am, it s only my 
 great coat. Where are you going, sir? To Brough 
 am Hall. . Why, you must be a very remarkable man, 
 
166 MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 to be going to Brougham Hall. I am a very remark 
 able man, ma am. At Penrith they got out, after hav 
 ing talked incessantly, and tried every possible means 
 to discover who I was, exclaiming as they went off 
 laughing, Well, it is very provoking we ean t see you, 
 but we ll find out who you are at the ball ; Lord 
 Brougham always comes to the ball at Penrith, and we 
 shall certainly be there, and shall soon discover your 
 name. " 
 
 In the summer, Dr. and Mrs. Marcet came with their 
 two daughters to spend some days with us. 
 
 Mrs. Marcet writes: "Mr. Smith was talking after 
 breakfast with Dr. Marcet, in a very impressive and seri 
 ous tone, on scientific subjects, and I was admiring the 
 enlarged and philosophic manner in which he discoursed 
 on them, when suddenly starting up, he stretched out 
 his arms and said, t Come, now let us talk a little non 
 sense. And then came such a flow of wit, and joke, 
 and anecdote, such a burst of spirits, such a charm and 
 freshness of manner, such an irresistible laugh, that 
 Solomon himself would have yielded to the infection, 
 and called out, Nonsense forever ! " 
 
 I have been told it is the opinion of one who knew 
 my father well, and whose opinion I value, that I have 
 hardly done justice to the more serious part of his char 
 acter. If this be so, I have indeed done him grievous 
 wrong ; for this was the foundation, or rather storehouse, 
 from which ail his wit and imagination sprang, and 
 which gave them such value in the eyes of the world. 
 The expression of my father s face when at rest was 
 that of sense and dignity ; and th\s was the picture of 
 his mind in the calmer and graver hours of life : but 
 when he found (as we sometimes do) a passage that 
 bore the stamp of immortality, his countenance in an 
 instant changed and lighted up, and a sublime thought, 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 107 
 
 sight, or action, struck on his soul at once, and found a 
 kindred spark within it. 
 
 Mrs. Marcet has just spoken of his rapid transition 
 from sense to nonsense ; I remember a similar in 
 stance of his rapid transition from gayety to the deepest 
 pathos. Some ladies walking with me, seeing my father 
 sitting at his singular writing establishment in the bay, 
 went in through his glorified windows, and established 
 themselves round his table, he talking in his gayest 
 and most animated manner ; in an instant his counte 
 nance and tone changed, and he gave expression to tho 
 thought within him, with a pathos that touched all, for 
 there was a tear in every eye. Strange to say, vivid as 
 this scene is to my mind, I can neither recall a word 
 he said, nor the subject of the conversation ; but it 
 struck me as an instance of great power. His reason 
 ing powers are sufficiently before the world in his 
 works. He loved argument on serious and important 
 subjects, but always after his own fashion ; throwing 
 aside all extraneous matter, and by two or three pointed 
 questions, marching up at once to the point. He argued 
 with perfect temper in society, or if he saw the argu 
 ment becoming long or warm, in a moment he dashed 
 over his opponent s trenches, and was laughingly attack 
 ing him on some fresh point. In sorrow or misfortune, 
 he used to say, the great sting was self-reproach. In 
 all the important affairs of life a man ought to make 
 every possible exertion that he can with honor, and 
 then, and not till then, sit down and cast his care upon 
 God, for lie careth for him. I have heard him say, 
 u Some very excellent people tell you they dare not 
 hope ; why do they not dare to hope ? To me it seems 
 much more impious to dare to despair." I have already 
 shown that lie studied much, and had always some use 
 ful purpose in hand. The real way to improve, he said, 
 
168 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 is not so much by varied reading, as by finding out 
 your weak points on any subject, and mastering them ; 
 this was his constant practice. But to return to Mrs. 
 Marcet : 
 
 " I was coming down stairs the next morning (she 
 continues), when Mr. Smith suddenly said to Bunch, 
 who was passing, Bunch, do you like roast duck or 
 boiled chicken ? Bunch had probably never tasted 
 either the one or the other in her life, but answered, 
 without a moment s hesitation, Koast duck, please, 
 sir, and disappeared. I laughed. You may laugh, 
 said he, but you have no idea of the labor it has cost 
 me to give her that decision of character. The York 
 shire peasantry are the quickest and shrewdest in the 
 world, but you can never get a direct answer from them ; 
 if you ask them even their own names, they always 
 scratch their heads, and say, A s sur ai don t knaw, 
 sir; but I have brought Bunch to such perfection, 
 that she never hesitates now on any subject, however 
 difficult. I am very strict with her. Would you like 
 to hear her repeat her crimes ? She has them by heart, 
 and repeats them every day. 
 
 " Come here, Bunch! (calling out to her), come 
 and repeat your crimes to Mrs. Marcet ; and Bunch, a 
 clean, fair, squat, tidy little girl, about ten or twelve 
 years of age, quite as a matter of course, as grave as 
 a judge, without the least hesitation, and with a loud 
 voice, began to repeat Plate-snatching, gravy-spill 
 ing, door-slamming, blue-bottle-fly-catching, and court 
 esy-bobbing. Explain to Mrs. Marcet what blue- 
 bottle-fly-catching is. Standing with my mouth open 
 and not attending, sir. And what is courtesy-bob 
 bing ? Courtesy ing to the centre of the earth, please, 
 sir. Good girl! now you may go. She makes a 
 capital waiter, I assure you ; on state occasions Jack 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. loo 
 
 Robinson, my carpenter, takes off his apron and waits 
 too, and does pretty well, but lie sometimes naturally 
 makes a mistake and sticks a gimlet into the bread 
 instead of a fork." 1 
 
 Once, when we were on a visit at Lord - s, -we 
 were sitting with a large party at luncheon, when our 
 host s eldest son, a fine boy of between eight and nine, 
 burst into the room, and, running up to his father, 
 began a playful skirmish with him ; the boy, half in 
 play, half in earnest, hit his father in the face, who, to 
 carry on the joke, put up both his hands, saying, "Oh, 
 
 B , you have put out my eye." In an instant the 
 
 blood mounted to the boy s temples, he flung his little 
 arms round his father, and sobbed in such a paroxysm 
 of grief and despair, that it was some time before even 
 his father s two bright eyes beaming on him with pleas 
 ure could convince him of the truth, and restore him to 
 tranquillity. 
 
 When he left the room, my father, who had silently 
 looked with much interest and emotion on the scene, 
 said, "I congratulate you; I guarantee that boy; 
 make your hearts easy ; however he may be tossed 
 about the world, with those feelings, and such a heart, 
 he will come out unscathed." 
 
 The father, one of those who consider their fortune 
 but as a loan, to be employed in spreading an atmos 
 phere of virtue and happiness around them as far as 
 their influence reaches, is now no more, and this son 
 occupies his place ; but his widowed mother the other 
 day reminded me how true the prophecy had proved ; 
 and the scene was so touching that I can not resist giv 
 ing it. 
 
 My father comically alludes to the solitary life we led 
 at this time, saying in one of his letters to a friend, 
 " Let us know when you pass, and we will write a letter 
 VOL. L IT 
 
170 MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 to tell you whether we arc at home or not. It is twen 
 ty to one against our being engaged, as we only dine 
 out once in seven or eight years, and that septennial 
 exertion was made last year. 
 
 As our opportunities for society were thus few, my 
 father occasionally took lodgings for us during the as 
 sizes in York, which enabled us to sec a great deal of 
 the principal lawyers on the northern circuit. Among 
 these were some of the early legal friends he had made 
 when first settling in his little house in Doughty Street, 
 such as Mr. Scarlett, Brougham, Parke, Tindal, and 
 many others then beginning life, but all since become 
 of high eminence in their profession. It was on the oc 
 casion of one of these York assizes that Lord Lyiidhurst, 
 then Sir John Copley, came there on a special retainer, 
 and dined with us, together with a large party of law 
 yers ; and contributed not a little, by his powers of 
 conversation, to one of the most agreeable dinners I 
 ever remember. Little did we then guess how much he 
 was to contribute hereafter to the happiness and comfort. 
 of my father s life. At this time Hunt s trial was going 
 on, and excited much interest in the public mind. My 
 father attended through the whole trial, and has ex 
 pressed in some of his letters how much he was struck 
 by the natural and untaught ability which Hunt evinced 
 in the conduct and defense of his cause. 
 
 This summer my father went with his family to 
 Bishop s Lydiard, in Somersetshire, to visit my grand 
 father, who, though a very old man, was still in high 
 vigor, both of body and mind ; and, I think, more pic 
 turesque and agreeable than ever. 
 
 On our return in the autumn, we were in great danger 
 of having a repetition of the disastrous harvest of 1816, 
 from the precarious state of the weather ; and it was 
 only by my father s constant activity and energy that 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 171 
 
 it was prevented. For lie infused, by his presence, ap 
 probation, and good-humor, such activity and good-will 
 among liis workmen, that they volunteered to continue 
 their labors in relays all night, and persevered till the 
 harvest was saved ; while he came among them con 
 tinually, and took care to have large tables in the barn 
 covered with meat and drink for them. 
 
 Among the friends my father made at the later period 
 of his residence in London, was Mr. Grattan. Attracted 
 not only by what attracted all the world (Mr. Grattan s 
 high character and great abilities), but by his ardent 
 zeal for the two objects my father had always most at 
 heart Ireland, and the Catholic question he sought 
 every opportunity of cultivating Mr. Grattan s society 
 which the short visits he was now able to make to Lon 
 don afforded. 
 
 The death of this great man, which took place in 
 L820, about the period I am now arrived at, was as 
 cribed in great measure to his coming over with a peti 
 tion on the Catholic question, when in a state of health 
 which rendered him unfit for such exertion. My father 
 joined warmly in the general regret for the loss of such 
 a man, and, in an article in the Edinburgh Heview, on 
 "Ireland," shortly after, expresses his admiration in a 
 sketch of his friend, which, being as short as it is 
 beautiful, I shall extract : 
 
 "Great men hallow a whole people, and lift up all 
 who live in their time. What Irishman does not feel 
 proud that he has lived in the days of Grattan ? Who 
 has not turned to him for comfort, from the Mse friends 
 and open enemies of Ireland ? who did not remember 
 him in the days of its burnings, wastings, and murders ? 
 Xo government ever dismayed him the world could 
 not bribe him he thought only of Ireland : lived for 
 
172 MEMOIR OF THE KEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 no other object, dedicated to her his beautiful fancy, his 
 elegant wit, his manly courage, and all the splendor of 
 his astonishing eloquence. 
 
 "He was so born, so gifted, that poetry, forensic 
 skill, elegant literature, and all the highest attainments 
 of human genius were within his reach ; but he thought 
 the noblest occupation of a man was to make other men 
 happy and free ; and in that straight line lie kept for 
 fifty years, without one side-look, one yielding thought, 
 one motive in his heart which he might not have laid 
 open to the view of God or man." 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Legacy. Visit to Edinburgh. Visits London : Popularity there. 
 Letters to Home, and care of Parish. Takes Son to Charterhouse. 
 Visits Mr. Rogers. Appointed Chaplain to High Sheriff. Preaches 
 in Cathedral. Anecdote at Spencer House. Meeting of Clergy, 
 East Riding. His Petition. Speech. Living of Londesborough. 
 Goes to Paris. Letter on receiving Irreligious Book. Death oi 
 Father. Description of House by Friend. Love of Chess and Sing 
 ing. Marriage of Youngest Daughter. Becomes Canon of Bristol. 
 Effect produced at Bristol. History of Apologue, by Mr. Everett. 
 
 IT was about this time that an old lady, Aunt Mary Iby 
 name, who possessed considerable wealth, suddenly pro 
 posed to pay us a visit ; and, as it seemed, so much 
 approved all she saw in the little establishment at Fos- 
 ton, that on her death, the following year, she left my 
 father a most unexpected legacy. Though not large, it 
 
 then seemed to us all unbounded wealth. On receiving 
 
 o 
 
 this accession of fortune, my father of course immediate 
 ly released my uncle from the contribution he had so 
 kindly made toward my brother s education. His next 
 step was to call us all around him, saying, " You must 
 all share in this windfall : so choose something you 
 would like." We all made out* selection. 
 
 In the winter of this year, we all went to Edinburgh 
 on a visit to Lord Jeffrey, after ten years absence on 
 our side ; and a most agreeable visit we had ; for, in 
 addition to the enjoyment of Lord Jeffrey s society at 
 every stray moment he could steal from business, we 
 were received with open arms by all our old Scotch 
 friends ; and when they do open their arms, there arc 
 no people so kind and so hospitable as the Scotch. 
 
17 4 MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 In May, next year (1822), my father went up to stay 
 a short time in his "brother s house in town, as indeed 
 he usually did every spring. And the rush of invita 
 tions, and the struggle for his society, would have been 
 quite enough to turn any head less strong than his. 
 Many weeks before he set off, invitations used to come 
 down into the country ; and I have known him engaged 
 every night during his stay, for three weeks beforehand ; 
 but in the midst of all this dissipation and popularity he 
 never forgot his home and family. Every morning, at 
 breakfast, appeared his letter to my mother, giving an 
 account of his daily proceedings, together with minute 
 directions about his farm and parish ; not always, it 
 must be admitted, in the most legible hand. A family 
 council was often held over his directions ; once, so en 
 tirely without success, that, after many endeavors on 
 our part to decipher what they could be, as it seemed 
 urgent, my mother cut out the passage and inclosed it 
 to him; he returned it, saying, "he must decline ever 
 reading his own handwriting four-and-twenty hours after 
 he had written it." He was so aware of the badness of 
 his handwriting, that in a letter to Mr. Travers, who 
 wished to see one of his sermons, he says, "I would 
 send it to you with pleasure, but my writing is as if a 
 swarm of ants, escaping from an ink-bottle, had walked 
 over a sheet of paper without wiping their legs." The 
 handwriting of his friend Lord Jeffrey was, if possible, 
 still more illegible ; my father wrote to him, on receiv 
 ing one of his letters, "My dear Jeffrey We are much 
 obliged by your letter, but should be still more so were 
 it legible. I have tried to read it from left to right, and 
 Mrs. Sydney from right to "left, and we neither of us 
 can decipher a single word of it." 
 
 The interests of his villagers, too, were not neglected. 
 On one occasion, in a broiling sun, Avith no other equi- 
 
MKMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 170 
 
 page than his umbrella, he paced down to one of the 
 public offices to obtain some information about a young 
 soldier, the only son of a poor laborer and his wife, in 
 his village, who Avere in a great state of anxiety about 
 him, not having received any tidings for months. He 
 entered the office, hot, tired, and dusty, and I daresay 
 very ill-dressed ; and proceeded to put the necessary 
 (questions to one of the young officials, in all the splendor 
 of whisker and waistcoat ; but, after much delay and 
 cool impertinence, obtained no satisfactory answer. He 
 then said, giving his card, and making his bow, "I 
 have but one other question to trouble you with, sir, and 
 that is your name ; as I am about to proceed from this 
 door to call on your master. I came here, a country 
 clergyman, to perform my duty to my parish, and 1 
 shall inform him how his servants perform theirs.* 
 These words acted like magic. In an instant the youth 
 stood humbled before him, " entreating pardon and 
 silence ; that he had nothing to depend on but his 
 office, and this would ruin him." .My father of course 
 yielded, but warned him to let this be a useful lesson 
 for the future. 
 
 In the winter of the following year, about six o clock 
 in the evening, we were assembled around a blazing 
 fire, waiting for dinner. The weather had been un 
 usually severe, and the roads were so filled by drifts of 
 snow, that they were considered quite impassable. The 
 butcher and the baker even could hardly make their 
 way on horseback to the house, and the front door was 
 so blocked up by snow as to be quite unapproachable. 
 Suddenly a tremendous peal was heard on the bell : all 
 started at the unwonted sound in such a season and at 
 such an hour, and were lost in conjectures what it could 
 mean. Bunch rushed to the door, and presently enter 
 ed llie room breathless, exclaiming, "Please, sir, Lord 
 
176 MEMOIK OF THE HEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 and Lady Makincrusli is com d in a coach-and-four, and 
 wants to stay with you, but they can t get up to the 
 front door ! " Who Lord and Lady Mackincrush could 
 be, and why they bestowed themselves upon us, was 
 alike a mystery. But Sydney, calling for a lantern, 
 sallied forth, and found, to his no less joy than surprise, 
 his old friend Sir James Mackintosh and his daughter, 
 half buried in the snow. They were extracted, warmed, 
 and welcomed, as such friends ought to be ; or rather, 
 with such means as the little parsonage could furnish. 
 The next morning, when we were sitting at breakfast, 
 arrived,, to our infinite amusement, Sir James s letter, 
 announcing his intended visit, and asking whether we 
 could receive him. 
 
 My father s sketch, in the Life of Sir James, shows 
 his estimate of this great man; and the keen enjoyment 
 his society ever afforded him was enhanced by the rarity 
 of their meeting, now that he was so far removed from 
 his former friends. 
 
 Sir James Mackintosh went after a few days ; leaving 
 behind not recollections only, but hat, books, gloves, pa 
 pers, and various portions of his wardrobe, with charac 
 teristic carelessness. "What a man that would be, " 
 said my father, "had he a particle of gall, or the least 
 knowledge of the value of red tape!" As Curran said 
 of Grattan, "he would have governed the world." 
 
 In 1823, having received a presentation to the Char 
 terhouse from the Archbishop of York, for his second 
 son, Wyndham, he took him there in the spring. While 
 lie was in town, Mr. Rogers says, "I had been ill some 
 weeks, confined to my bed. Sydney heard of it, found 
 me out, sat by my bed, cheered me, talked to me, made 
 me laugh more than I ever thought to have laughed 
 again. The next day a bulletin was brought to my 
 bedside, giving the physician s report of my case : tl .o 
 
MILMOIli OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 177 
 
 following day the report was much worse ; the next 
 day declaring there was no hope, and England would 
 have to mourn over the loss of her sweetest poet ; 
 then I died amidst weeping friends ; then came my fu 
 neral ; and, lastly, a sketch of my character, all writ 
 ten by that pen which had the power of turning every 
 thing into sunshine and joy. Sydney never forgot his 
 friends ! " 
 
 In the course of the summer a young friend came 
 to spend a month with us, the freshness and originality 
 of whose character both interested and amused my fa 
 ther ; he chanced on one occasion to call her " a nice per 
 son." "Oh, don t call me meg, Mr. Sydney; people 
 only say that where they can say nothing else." "Why ? 
 have you ever reflected what a nice person means?" 
 "No, Mr. Sydney," said she, laughing, "but I don t 
 like it." "Well, give me pen and ink; I will show 
 vou," said my father, " a 
 
 "DEFINITION OF A NICE PERSON. 
 
 "A nice person is neither too tall nor too short, looks 
 clean and cheerful, has no prominent feature, makes no 
 difficulties, is never misplaced, sits bodkin, is never fool 
 ishly affronted, and is void of affectations. 
 
 " A nice person helps you well at dinner, understands 
 you, is always gratefully received by young and old, 
 Whig and Tory, grave and gay. 
 
 " There is something in the very air of a nice person 
 which inspires you with confidence, makes you talk, and 
 talk without fear of malicious misrepresentation ; you 
 feel that you are reposing upon a nature which God lias 
 made kind, and created for the benefit and happiness of 
 society. It has the effect upon the mind which soft air 
 and a fine climate has upon the body. 
 
 "A nice person is clear of little, trumpery passions, 
 n* 
 
173 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 acknowledges superiority, delights in talent, shelters 
 humility, pardons adversity, forgives deficiency, re 
 spects all men s rights, never stops the Ibottle, is never 
 long and never wrong, always knows the day of the 
 month, the name of every body at table, and never gives 
 pain to any human being. 
 
 " If any body is wanted for a party, a nice person is 
 the first thought of; when the child is christened, when 
 the daughter is married all the joys of life are commu 
 nicated to nice people ; the hand of the dying man is 
 always held out to a nice person. 
 
 " A nice person never knocks over wine or melted 
 butter, does not tread upon the dog s foot, or molest the 
 family cat, eats soup without noise, laughs in the right 
 place, and has a watchful and attentive eye." 
 
 This same year, his eldest son, Douglas, having left 
 Westminster with great distinction (and been elected 
 Captain of the College, after struggling with unusual 
 difficulties), went in the autumn to Christ Church, Ox 
 ford.* My father mentions, in the autumn of this year, 
 
 * " His father had always taught him the Eton grammar. The in 
 tention of sending him to Westminster was sudden. The change of 
 grammar was a dreadful difficulty, only a fe\v months before the com 
 petition, which was to admit him as a King s scholar. In addition to 
 this, a most severe fever seized him shortly after he went to West 
 minster, and for six weeks kept him confined to his bed : but so eager 
 was he for success, for our sakes, that even while keeping his bed 
 from fever and weakness, he ever had his Westminster grammar un 
 der his pillow ; and. too ill to get up, he was incessantly working at 
 it, in spite of all we could say. The challenges last about six weeks ; 
 there were, this year, twenty-eight candidates, of whom eight were 
 admitted ; and dear Douglas was sixth, to our inexpressible joy ; for 
 I verily believe it would have broken his heart had he failed, so very 
 desirous was he, on this first occasion that had occurred in his young 
 life, to repay by his success all the anxious and agitating fears his 
 father had felt about him for the future. Having become a King s 
 scholar, the hardships and cruelties he suffered, as a junior boy, from 
 his master, were such as at one time very nearly to compel us to re- 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 179 
 
 in liis letters, a most agreeable visit he made to Bowood, 
 meeting there Lord Holland, Luttrell, llogers, and some 
 other friends. 
 
 In 1824, my father took us for a short time to town, 
 Miss Vernon having kindly lent us her house in Hert 
 ford Street. We returned to York for the assizes, as 
 he had been appointed by Sir John Johnstone (then 
 High Sheriff) his chaplain ; and it was upon this oc 
 casion that he preached in. the Cathedral two remark 
 able sermons, upon the unjust judge, and the lawyer 
 who tempted Christ. There was great curiosity to hear 
 him, particularly among the lawyers on the North 
 ern circuit, to most of whom he was personally known. 
 The cathedral was crowded to the utmost. I well 
 remember the startling effect on every one present 
 when, after rising and looking round with that calm 
 dignity so peculiar to him in the pulpit, he slowly de 
 livered, with his powerful voice (the two judges sit 
 ting immediately opposite), this text: "God shall smite 
 tlice, thou whited wall ; for sittest tliou to judge me 
 according to the law, and commandest me to be smit 
 ten contrary to the law ?" From this opening his 
 audience were little prepared for the following splen 
 did culogium which he pronounced on the office of 
 an English judge, such as it is now exercised in this 
 country : 
 
 "He who takes the office of a judge, as it now exists 
 in this country, takes in his hands a splendid gem, good 
 and glorious, perfect and pure. Shall lie give it up mu 
 tilated ? shall he mar it ? shall he darken it ? shall it emit 
 no light? shall it be valued at no price? shall it excite 
 
 move him from the. school. Tic was taken home for a short period, to 
 recover from his bruises, and restore his eye. His first act, on becom 
 ing Captain himself, was to endeavor to ameliorate the condition of the 
 juniors, and to obtain additional comforts for them from the liead-msis- 
 ter." l^roni nnj Motlicrx Journal. 
 
ISO MEMOIK OF THE KEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 no wonder ? shall lie find it a diamond ? shall he leave 
 it a stone ? 
 
 "What should we say to the man who would will 
 fully destroy with fire the magnificent temple of God in 
 which I am now preaching ? Far worse is he who ruins 
 the moral edifice of the world, which time and toil, and 
 many prayers to God, and many sufferings of men have 
 reared ; who puts out the light of the times in which he 
 lives, and leaves us to wander in the darkness of corrup 
 tion and the desolation of sin. 
 
 "There may "be, there probably is, in this church 
 some young man who may hereafter fill the office of an 
 English judge, when the greater part of those who hear 
 me this day are dead and gone. Let him remember my 
 words, and let them form and fashion his spirit. He 
 can not tell in what dangerous and awful times he may 
 be placed : but, as a mariner looks to his compass in 
 the calm, and looks to his compass in the storm, and 
 never keeps his eye off his compass, so in every vicissi 
 tude of a judicial life deciding for the people, deciding 
 against the people protecting the just rights of kings, 
 or restraining their unlawful ambition let him ever 
 cling to that pure, exalted, and Christian independence 
 which towers over the little motives of life, which no 
 hope of favor can influence, which no effort of power 
 can control/ 
 
 During one of his visits to London, at a dinner at 
 Spencer House, the conversation turned upon dogs. 
 "Oh." said my father, "one of the greatest difficulties 
 I have had with my parishioners has been on the sub 
 ject of dogs." " How so ?" said Lord Spencer. "Why, 
 when I first went down into Yorkshire, there had not 
 been a resident clergyman in my parish for a hundred 
 and fifty years. Each farmer kept a huge mastiff dog, 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY .SMITH. 181 
 
 ranging at large, and ready to make his morning meal 
 on clergy or laity, as best suited liis particular taste ; I 
 never could approach a cottage in pursuit of my calling, 
 "but I rushed into the jaws of one of these shaggy mon 
 sters. I scolded, preached, and prayed, without avail ; 
 so I determined to try what fear for their pockets might 
 do. Forthwith appeared in the county papers a minute 
 account of a trial of a farmer, at the Northampton Ses 
 sions, for keeping dogs unconfined ; where said farmer 
 was not only lined five pounds and reprimanded Iby the 
 magistrates, but sentenced to three months imprison 
 ment. The effect was wonderful, and the reign of Cer 
 berus ceased in the land." " That accounts," said Lord 
 Spencer, "for what has puzzled me and Althorp for 
 many years. We never failed to attend the sessions at 
 Northampton, and we never could find out how we had 
 missed this remarkable dog case." 
 
 In the year 1825, a meeting of the clergy of the dio 
 cese having been called in the East Riding of Yorkshire, 
 to petition Parliament against the emancipation of the 
 Catholics, was held at the Tiger Inn, at Beverley. My 
 father, though much disliking such meetings, felt that, 
 if they were called, it was his duty to attend ; and, at 
 tending, to speak. Two petitions were sent up to Par 
 liament ; one to the House of Lords, to be presented by 
 the Archbishop of York ; the other to the Commons, by 
 Sir Robert Peel ; which were acceded to unanimously 
 by all the clergy present, my father s being the only 
 dissentient voice. * 
 
 * li A Petition drawn up by the Rev. Sydney Smith, to be proposed at a 
 Meeting of the Clergy at Cleveland, in Yorkshire, in 182."). 
 
 ""We, the undersigned, being clergymen of the Church of England, 
 resident within the Diocese of York, humbly petition your honorable 
 House to take into your consideration the state of those laws which af 
 fect the Roman Catholics of Great Britain and Ireland. 
 
 "We beg of you to inquire whether all those statutes, however wise 
 
182 MEMOIll OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 I see, in the very interesting Life of Dr. Bathurst, 
 Bishop of Norwich, lately published by his daughter, 
 that at an advanced age he stood alone in the House 
 of Lords to advocate the cause of religious toleration 
 against all the bench of Bishops. She speaks with 
 honest pride of the just admiration his courage obtained 
 from his friends, and the gratitude of the Ministry. 
 But if this required such courage in the " Good Bish 
 op" who came to that House with all the weight of the 
 family connection, whose influence first placed him there ; 
 and invested with the dignity of high office ; will it be 
 ungraceful in me to ask, what courage it required in my 
 father, still young, under a Tory administration, poor, 
 with a heavy debt still hanging over him, without fam 
 ily or friends to support him there, to come forward 
 alone, in opposition to the whole clergy of his diocese, 
 
 and necessary in their origin, may not HOAV (when the Church of En 
 gland is rooted in the public affection, and the title to the tin-one un 
 disputed) be wisely and safely repealed. 
 
 "We are steadfast friends to that Church of which we are members, 
 and we wish no law repealed which is really essential to its safety ; but 
 we submit to the superior wisdom of your honorable House, whether 
 that Church is not sufficiently protected by its antiquity, by its learning, 
 by its piety, and by that moderate tenor which it knows so well how to 
 preserve amidst the opposite excesses of mankind the indifference of 
 one age, and the fanaticism of another. 
 
 "It is our earnest hope that any indulgence you might otherwise 
 think it expedient to extend to the Catholic subjects of this realm may 
 not be prevented by the intemperate conduct of some few members of 
 that persuasion ; that in the great business of framing a lasting relig 
 ious peace for these kingdoms, the extravagance of over-heated minds, 
 or the studied insolence of men who intend mischief, may be equally 
 overlooked. 
 
 "If your honorable House should in your wisdom determine that all 
 these laws which are enacted against the Roman Catholics can not with 
 safety and advantage be repealed, we then venture to express a hope 
 that such disqualifying laws alone will be suffered to remain, which you 
 consider to be clearlv required for the good of the Church and State. 
 "We feel the blessing*of our own religious liberty, and we think it a se 
 rious duty to extend it to others, in every degree which sound discre 
 tion will permit." 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 183 
 
 to advocate the same cause ? * In this speech he speaks 
 of the advance the Catholic question had made during 
 the session, from the astonishment of the House at the 
 union of the Irish Catholics ; and then, alluding to the 
 effects these laws were producing in Ireland, he says, 
 "We preach to our congregations that a tree is known 
 by its fruits. What has your system done for Ireland ? 
 Her children, safe under no law, live in the very shadow 
 of death. Has it made Ireland rich ? has it made Ire 
 land loyal ? has it made Ireland free ? has it made Ire 
 land happy ? From the principles of this system, from 
 the cruelty of these laws, I turn, and turn with the hom 
 age of my whole heart, to the memorable proclamation 
 which the monarch of these realms has lately made to 
 his dominions of Hanover, That no man should be 
 subjected to civil incapacities on account of religious 
 opinioJis. This sentiment in the mouth of a king de 
 serves, more than all glories and victories, the notice of 
 the historian who is destined to tell to future ages the 
 deeds of the English people. I hope he will lavish on 
 it every gem which glitters in the cabinet of genius ; and 
 so uphold it to the world, that it will be remembered 
 when "Waterloo is forgotten, and when the fall of Paris 
 is blotted out from the memory of man." 
 
 About this period a very considerable and most unex 
 pected addition was made to my father s income by the 
 kind intercession and exertion of our friends at Castle 
 Howard, who obtained from the Duke of Devonshire the 
 living of Londcsborough (at no great distance from Fos- 
 ton, aiiji then tenable with it), for him to hold till the 
 Duke s nephew, Mr. Howard, should be of age to take it. 
 This, together with Aunt Mary s legacy, put him, for the 
 
 * I hope I shall not l>e understood as wishing to depreciate one whom 
 all good men must admire, hut as only desirous of doing justice to my 
 father. 
 
184 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 first time in his life, tolerably at his ease, as he had by 
 this time liquidated many of the first heavy expenses en 
 tailed upon him by building. But the debt to Queen 
 Anne s Bounty, raised on the value of the living, re 
 mained, and had up to this time obliged us to exercise 
 the most rigid economy. These debts had weighed 
 heavily on my father s spirits ; giving him, as my moth 
 er has often told me, sleepless nights of anxiety as to 
 the future provision for his children ; and I have not un- 
 irequently seen him in an evening, when bill after bill 
 poured in, as he was sitting at his desk (carefully exam 
 ining them, and gradually paying them off), quite over 
 come by the feeling of the debt hanging over him, cover 
 his face in his hands, and exclaim, "Ah! I see, I shall 
 end my old age in a gaol I" 
 
 This was the more striking from one the buoyancy of 
 whose spirits usually rose above all difficulties. It made 
 a deep impression upon us ; and I remember many little- 
 family councils, to sec if it were not possible to econo 
 mize in something more, and lessen our daily expenses 
 to assist him. 
 
 The following year he accomplished what he had long- 
 wished to do, but had never been able to afford a visit 
 to Paris ; where he found Lord and Lady Holland, and 
 many other English friends, and was introduced by them 
 to some of the best French society. 
 
 He has given his impressions of Paris in his letters 
 to my mother. These Paris letters are, I am sorry to 
 say, almost the only ones to her which have been pre 
 served ; for though, when absent, he wrote to my moth 
 er regularly every day, yet the interesting matter they 
 contained was so mixed up with directions and home 
 details, that they were not considered of permanent 
 value. The only purchase he made for himself in Paris, 
 though he brought us all a gift, was a huge seal, con- 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 185 
 
 taining the arms of a peer of France, which he met with 
 in a broker s shop, and "bought for four francs ; and 
 which he declared should henceforth be the arms of his 
 "branch of the Smith family. From all he witnessed in 
 Paris, and seeing the little wisdom the Bourbons seemed 
 to have gained from misfortune, he predicted the revolu 
 tion which took place so few years afterward. He re 
 newed there his early acquaintance with two remarkable 
 men, Talleyrand and Pozzo di Borgo, of whom he saw 
 a good deal. 
 
 After his return we had a visit from Lord Jeffrey ; 
 our old and valued friend Mr. Whisliaw, the Hannibal 
 of his suppers ; and Mr. John Romilly, now Master of 
 Ihe Rolls. 
 
 My father, who, however he might indulge in attacks 
 on what he thought the shortcomings of the Church, 
 never for a moment tolerated any thing approaching to 
 irreligion, even in his most private transactions, received 
 about this time a work of irreligious tendency from the 
 house of a considerable publisher in London, who was 
 in the habit of occasionally presenting him with books. 
 Many men might have passed this over as of little im 
 portance ; but he felt that nothing was unimportant that 
 had reference to such a subject. These feelings were 
 strongly evinced on various occasions, in some of his 
 early letters to Jeffrey, where he not only deprecates 
 the injury to the Edinburgh Review by the admission 
 of irreligious opinions ; but declares his determination, 
 if this were not avoided, of separating himself from a 
 work of which he had felt hitherto so justly proud. He 
 writes to Jeffrey, saying, "I hear witli sorrow from 
 Elmsley, that a very anti-christian article has crept into 
 
 the last number of the Edinburgh Review. . . . You 
 
 o 
 
 must be thoroughly aware that the rumor of infidelity 
 decides not only the reputation, but the existence of the 
 
ISO MEMOIR OF THE 1JEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 Beview. I am extremely sony, too, on my own account, 
 because those who wish it to have been written by me, 
 will say it was so." And again, in another letter: "I 
 must beg the favor of you to be explicit 011 one point. 
 Do you mean to take care that the Review shall not 
 profess infidel principles ? Unless this is the case, I 
 must absolutely give up all connection with it." On 
 the occasion just alluded to, my father immediately 
 wrote to the publisher, saying, "that he could not be 
 aware that he had sent him a work unfit to be sent to a 
 clergyman of the Church of England, or, indeed, of any 
 church ;" and after counselling him against such publica 
 tions, even, with a view to mere worldly interests, he 
 adds, " I hate the insolence, persecution, and intolerance, 
 which so often pass under the name of religion, and, as 
 you know, have fought against them ; but I have an 
 unaffected horror of irreligion and impiety, and every 
 principle of suspicion and fear would be excited in me 
 by a man who professed himself an infidel." 
 
 In 1827 the Junction Ministry was formed, which 
 combined a portion of the Whigs with the remains of 
 Mr. Canning s party. My father, knowing that there 
 were in this Ministry many upon whom he had just 
 claims, finding his family now grown up, his son about 
 to enter on an expensive profession,* and aware that 
 his clerical income would shortly be diminished to nearly 
 one-third by the resignation of the living of Londes- 
 borough to Mr. Howard, felt it due to himself and his 
 family to make some application for preferment to his 
 friends. He wrote, therefore, to one or two of those in 
 the Ministry, and to his friend Lord Brougham likewise, 
 stating to him his hopes and wishes, and requesting his 
 influence with those in power. From Lord Brougham 
 I have reason to believe he received the answer he had 
 
 * lie was destined for the Law. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 1ST 
 
 a right to expect from so very old a friend. From one 
 of the others he received an answer politely deferring 
 his promises to some future period, as I presume from 
 the following reply, which is so very characteristic of 
 my father, and so very unlike the usual mode of address 
 from an expectant clergyman to a minister of state, that 
 I shall give it though without a name, as I have not 
 asked permission to insert it : 
 
 " 20, SAVILLI; Row. 
 
 " I am much obliged by your polite letter. You ap 
 peal to my good-nature to prevent me from considering 
 your letter as a decent method of putting me oif : your 
 appeal, I assure you, is not made in vain. I do not 
 think you mean to put me oft*; because I am the most 
 prominent, and was for a long time the only clerical 
 advocate of that question, by the proper arrangement 
 of which you believe the happiness and safety of the 
 country would be materially improved. I do not believe 
 you mean to put me oft"; because, in giving me some 
 promotion, you will teach the clergy, from whose timid 
 ity you have every thing to apprehend, and whoso in 
 fluence upon the people you can not doubt, that they 
 may, under your Government, obey the dictates of their 
 consciences without sacrificing the emoluments of their 
 profession. I do not think you mean to put me off; 
 because, in the conscientious administration of that pa 
 tronage with which you are intrusted, I think it will 
 occur to you that something is due to a person who, in 
 stead of basely chiming in with the bad passions of the 
 multitude, lias dedicated some talent and some activity 
 to soften religious hatreds, and to make men less violent 
 and less foolish than ho found them. 
 
 "I am, sincerely yours, 
 
 " SYDNEY SMITH." 
 
188 MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 We received a visit in the autumn from a clergyman, 
 who, though a comparatively recent friend, was one ever 
 highly valued "by my father, and who was afterward 
 promoted to the bench. A letter he wrote on this occa 
 sion, descriptive of his visit, which has Ibeen most kindly 
 sent me by his widow, is so graphic, and it is so flatter 
 ing to my father that such a letter should have been 
 written by such a man, that I can not resist inserting it 
 here, though it speaks of tilings some of which have been 
 alluded to before : 
 
 "A man s character is probably more faithfully repre 
 sented in the arrangements of his home than in any- 
 other point ; and Foston is a fac-simile of its master s 
 mind, from first to last. He had no architect, but I 
 question whether a more compact, convenient house 
 could well be imagined. In the midst of a field, com 
 manding no very attractive view, he has contrived to 
 give it an air of snugness and comfort, and its internal 
 arrangements are perfect. The drawing-room is the 
 color you covet, the genuine chromium, with a sort of 
 yellow flowering pattern. It is exquisitely filled with 
 irregular regularities tables, books, chairs, Indian ward 
 robes ; every thing finished in thorough taste, without 
 the slightest reference to smartness or useless finery ; and 
 his inventive genius appears in every corner; his fires 
 arc blown into brightness by shadracfis, tubes furnished 
 Avith air from without, opening into the centre of the fire ; 
 his poker, tongs, and shovel are secured from felling with 
 that horrid crash which is so destructive to the nerves 
 and temper. 
 
 " His own study has no appearance of comfort ; but 
 as he reads and writes in his family circle, in spite 
 of talking and other interruptions, this is of less con 
 sequence. In other respects it lias its attractions : 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 189 
 
 there, for instance, he keeps his rheumatic armor, all 
 of which he displayed out of a large bag, giving me 
 an illustrated lecture upon each component part. Fan 
 cy him in a fit of rheumatism, his legs in two nar 
 row buckets, which he calls his jack-boots ; round the 
 throat a hollow tin collar ; over each shoulder a large 
 tin thing like a shoulder of mutton ; on his head a hol 
 low tin helmet, all filled with hot water ; and fancy 
 him expatiating upon each and all of them with ultra- 
 energy. 
 
 " His bedrooms are counterparts of the lower rooms ; 
 in mine there were twenty-eight large Piranesi prints of 
 ancient Rome, mounted just as we do ours, but without 
 frames, and, indeed, in every vacant part of the house he 
 has them hung up. 
 
 " His store-room is more like that of an Indiaman than 
 any thing else, containing such a complete and well-as 
 sorted portion of every possible want or wish in a coun 
 try establishment. 
 
 "The same spirit prevails in his garden and farm: 
 contrivance and singularity in every hole and corner. 
 
 " What, in the name of wonder, is that skeleton 
 sort of machine in the middle of your field ? Oh, 
 that is my universal Scratcher ; a framework so con 
 trived, that every animal, from a lamb to a bullock, 
 can rub and scratch itself with the greatest facility and 
 luxury. 
 
 "I arrived there on Saturday evening, walking from 
 York, by which I contrived to lose my way, and take 
 possession of another man s home and drawing-room fire 
 side for some time before the host appeared, and the 
 mistake was discovered. 
 
 " On Sunday we prepared for church ; he was hoarse, 
 so I was to read ; against preaching I had provided 
 by having no sermon. Good heavens ! what a set- 
 
190 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 out ! The family chariot, which he calls the Immor 
 tal, from having been altered and repaired in every 
 possible way the last novelty, a lining of green cloth, 
 worked and fitted by the village tailor appeared at 
 the door, with a pair of shafts substituted for the 
 pole, in which shafts stood one of his cart-horses, with 
 the regular cart harness, and a driver by its side. In 
 the inside the ladies were seated : on the dicky be 
 hind I mounted with him ; but his servant having 
 placed the cushions without first putting in the wooden 
 board, on sitting down, we sank through, to his great 
 amusement. These preliminaries being adjusted, we 
 set out. 
 
 " The church resembles a barn more than any thing- 
 else, in size and shape ; though, from two old Saxon 
 doors, it shows claim to higher antiquity than most 
 others. About fifty people were assembled ; I enter 
 ed the reading-desk ; he followed the prayers with a 
 plain, sound sermon upon the duty of forgiving inju 
 ries, but in manner and voice clearly proving that he 
 felt what he said, and meant that others should feel it 
 too. 
 
 "His domestic establishment is on a par witli the 
 rest : his head servant is his carpenter, and never ap 
 pears excepting on company days. We were waited 
 upon by his usual corps doinestique, one little girl, about 
 fourteen years of age ; named, I believe, Mary or Fanny, 
 but invariably called by them Bunch. "With the most 
 immovable gravity she stands before him when he gives 
 his orders, the answers to which he makes her repeat 
 verbatim, to insure accuracy. 
 
 "Not to lose time, he farms with a tremendous speak 
 ing-trumpet from his door ; a proper companion for 
 which machine is a telescope, slung in leather, for observ 
 ing what they are doing. 
 
MKMOlli OF THE REV. SVDJSEV SMITH. 1 jl 
 
 " On Monday came Lady H. Hall, licr two daugh 
 ters and her two sons ; the latter, Captain 13. Hall, 
 a rara avis I have long wished to see; and Peter 
 Tytler, son (is he not ?) to the author. What a charm 
 there is in good society and well-informed people ! what 
 would you not have given to have heard the mass of 
 wit, sense, anecdote, and instruction that flowed inces 
 santly ! ? 
 
 The equipage alluded to in this letter requires a little 
 explanation. Our house was above a mile from the lit 
 tle church, with roads to it of the stiffest and deepest 
 clay, hardly passable to women in wet weather or 
 winter, and my mother was in delicate health. We 
 could not afford horses ; so my father, never ashamed 
 of showing his poverty when he thought it right, hit 
 upon this rude and cheap device, to enable his family 
 to accompany him in all weathers to church. Ludi 
 crous as this description may appear to the reader, 
 yet the proprieties of life were attended to. The horse, 
 the harness, the Immortal, and the carter, all wore their 
 best and cleanest Sunday garb, and I think they ex 
 cited respect rather than ridicule amidst his humble con 
 gregation. 
 
 A word, too, ought to be said in explanation of the 
 drawing-room furniture alluded to in this letter with so 
 much, praise. It consisted of a few relics preserved from 
 the valuable Indian furniture left by my grandmother, 
 the greater part of which had been parted with by my 
 mother for our benefit. All the rest was plain enough, 
 though still in good taste. Economy, in the estimation 
 of common minds, often means the absence of all taste 
 and comfort ; my father had the rare art to combine it 
 with both. For instance, he found it added much to 
 the expense of building to have high walls; he there- 
 
11T2 MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 fore threw the whole space of the roof into his "bedrooms, 
 coved the ceilings and papered them, and thus they were 
 all airy, gay, cheap, and pretty. Cornices he found ex 
 pensive ; so not one in the house, but the paper border, 
 thrown on the ceiling with a line of shade under it. 
 This relieved the eye, and atoned for their absence. 
 Marble chimney-pieces were too dear ; so he hunted out 
 a cheap, warm-looking Portland stone, had them cut 
 after his own model, and the result was to produce some 
 of the most cheerful, comfortable-looking fireplaces I re 
 member, for as many shillings as the marble ones would 
 have cost him pounds. 
 
 After my father became rich, at the end of life, he 
 amusingly alludes, in one of his letters, to the joy my 
 mother would feel on finding he had put up marble 
 chimney-pieces in his town-house.* 
 
 In his youth my father had been very fond of the 
 game of chess, but had left it off for many years. He 
 suddenly took it into his head to resume it this winter, 
 and selected me, faute de mieux, as his antagonist. 
 His mode of play was very characteristic bold, rapid 
 attack, without a moment s pause or indecision, which 
 I suspect would have exposed him to danger from a 
 more experienced adversary ; but as it was, with a pro 
 found contempt for my skill, promising me a shilling if 
 I beat him, he sat down with a book in his hand, looked 
 up for an instant, made a move, and beat me regularly 
 every night all through the winter. At last I won my 
 shilling, but lost my playfellow ; he challenged me no 
 more. 
 
 My father was very fond of singing, but rather slow 
 in learning a song, though when once he had accom 
 plished it, he sang it very correctly. As he never tired 
 of his old friends, and had always some new one on the 
 * See Letter to Mrs. Holland in the Correspondence. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. l J3 
 
 stocks, there was a tolerable variety of songs to select 
 from ; and, with my mother s beautiful accompaniment 
 (she was a very accomplished musician) and his own 
 really fine voice, our trios succeeded in pleasing him so 
 much, that he would often encore himself. He was so 
 perfectly natural, that though I think (and I have heard 
 many people remark it) the general tendency of his con 
 versation was to underrate himself, yet whenever he was 
 particularly pleased or satisfied with any thing he had 
 said or done, he would say so as frankly as if he had 
 been speaking of another person. "There is one talent 
 I think I have to a remarkable degree," I have heard 
 him say : " there arc substances in nature called amal 
 gams, whose property is to combine incongruous mate 
 rials ; now I am a moral amalgam, and have a peculiar 
 talent for mixing up human materials in society, how 
 ever repellent their natures." And certainly I have seen 
 a party, composed of materials as ill-assorted as the in 
 dividuals of the "happy family" in Trafalgar Square, 
 drawn out and attracted together by the charm of his 
 manner, till at last you would have believed they had 
 been bom for one another. 
 
 On the first of January, 1828, his youngest daughter, 
 Emily, was married by the Archbishop of York to Mr. 
 Hibbert, in the little barn church before mentioned. 
 And on the 24th of the same month Lord Lyndhurst, 
 then Chancellor, had the real friendship and courage to 
 brave the opinions and opposition of his own party ; 
 and, though diifering entirely from my father in politics, 
 from private friendship and the respect he had for his 
 character and talents, to bestow on him a stall which 
 was then vacant at Bristol two interesting family 
 events coming closely upon each other. 
 
 For this promotion he always felt deeply grateful to 
 Lord Lyndhurst, as it was of the greatest importance 
 VOL. I. I 
 
194 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 to him ; less in a pecuniary point of view (as, though 
 rendering permanent what was before temporary, it 
 rather diminished than increased his previous income), 
 than from breaking that spell which had hitherto kept 
 him down in his profession, and enabling him to show 
 the world how well he could fulfill its duties, wherever 
 placed. And this was strikingly exemplified at Bristol, 
 where he arrived with a strong prejudice felt not only 
 against himself by a large party, but against the Church 
 \ generally ; Bristol being full of Dissenters, and the 
 cathedral almost deserted at the time of his arrival. 
 There was a good deal of curiosity excited to hear what 
 line he would take. 
 
 He commenced his duties by preaching a sermon on 
 
 the 5th of November, before the Mayor and Corporation, 
 
 who came expecting to hear the usual attack on Catho- 
 
 i lies made on these occasions, and were much startled 
 
 I and astonished at hearing religious toleration preached 
 
 from the pulpit of their cathedral, and from the lips of 
 
 a dignitary of the Church. This letter, sent to me by 
 
 Lord Hatherton, gives my father s account of what 
 
 passed : 
 
 " LOWER COLLEGE GREEN, BRISTOL, 
 
 "November 7, 1828. 
 
 "Mr DEAR LITTLETON, 
 
 "Many thanks for your game, and for your enter 
 taining and interesting letter from Ireland. I direct to 
 your country place, not knowing exactly where you will 
 be, and presuming Mrs. Littleton will know. Putting 
 all things together, I think something will be done. 
 The letter from the three foolish noblemen, the failure 
 of Penenden-heath to excite a general and tumultuous 
 feeling, are all very favorable. I share in your admira 
 tion of Lord Anglesey s administration ; I have reason 
 to believe Ministers are a little dissatisfied with his dis- 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 1J5 
 
 position to oratory, which is thought undignified and 
 rash in a Vice-King. 
 
 "At Bristol, on the 5th of November, I gave the 
 Mayor and Corporation (the most Protestant Mayor and 
 Corporation in England) such a dose of toleration, as 
 shall last them for many a year. A deputation of pro- 
 Popery papers waited on me to-day to print, but I de 
 clined. I told the Corporation, at the end of my ser 
 mon, that beautiful rabinnical story quoted by Jeremy 
 Taylor, As Abraham was sitting at the door of his 
 tent, etc., ctc.j which, by-the-by, would make a charm 
 ing and useful placard against the bigoted. 
 
 "Be assured I shall make a discreet use of the in 
 telligence you give me, and compromise you in. no 
 thing. 
 
 "Remember me, if you please, to Wilmot Horton 
 when you write ; I like him very much, and take a sin 
 cere interest in his welfare. 
 
 "Ever yours, dear Littleton, very sincerely, 
 
 " SYDNEY SMITH." 
 
 I have heard that this sermon occasioned an immense 
 sensation at the time, " and the cathedral, from that 
 period, whenever he was to preach (though previously 
 almost deserted), was filled to suffocation. A crowd 
 collected round the doors long before they were opened, 
 and the heads of the standers in the aisle were so thick 
 set you could not have thrust in another ; and I saw 
 the men holding up their hats above their heads, that 
 they might not be crushed by the pressure." 
 
 "lie preached," says an eye-witness, "finely and 
 bravely on this occasion, in direct opposition to the 
 principles and prejudices of the persons in authority 
 present ; and ended by that beautiful apologue from 
 Jeremy Taylor, illustrating Charity and Toleration, where 
 
1 Jli MEMOIR OF THE KEY, SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 Abraham, rising in wrath to put the wayfaring man forth 
 from his tent for refusing to worship the Lord his God,* 
 the voice of the Lord was heard in the tent, saying, 
 Abraham ! Abraham ! have I borne with this man for 
 threescore years and ten, and canst not thou bear with 
 him for one hour ? " 
 
 "And yet," says the same eye-witness of whom I 
 have before spoken, " never did any body to my mind 
 look more like a High Churchman, as he walked up the 
 aisle to the altar there was an air of so much proud 
 dignity in his appearance ; and when I saw him after 
 ward more intimately in private life, I became aware he 
 had a lofty, brave soul, with an intense contempt for 
 every thing that was mean, base, or truckling." 
 
 The following letter from Mr. Everett gives some in 
 teresting information on this remarkable apologue, be 
 fore alluded to : 
 
 * Extract from the Liberty of Prophesying, by Jeremy Taylor, D.D., 
 eel. 1657, p. 606: 
 
 22. " I end with a story which I find in the Jew s 1 Books. When 
 Abraham sat at his tent-door, according to his custom, waiting to en 
 tertain strangers, he espied an old man stooping and leaning 011 his 
 staffe, weary with age and travelle, coming toward him, who was an 
 hundred years of age ; he received him kindly, washed his feet, pro 
 vided slipper, caused him to sit down ; but observing that the old man 
 eat and prayed not, nor begged for a blessing on his meat, asked him, 
 why he did not worship the God of heaven ? The old man told him 
 that he worshiped the fire only, and acknowledged no other God : at 
 which answer Abraham grew so zealously angry, that he thrust the old 
 man out of his tent, and exposed him to all the evils of the night and 
 an unguarded condition. When the old man was gone, God called to 
 him and asked him where the stranger was ; he replied, I thrust him 
 away because he did not worship thee ; God answered him, I have 
 suffered him these hundred years, although he dishonored me, and 
 couldst not thou endure him one night, when he gave thee no trouble ? 
 Upon this, saith the story, Abraham fetcht him back again, and gave 
 him hospitable entertainment and wise instruction. Go thou and do 
 likewise, and /thy charity will be rewarded by the God of Abraham." 
 
 1 Gentius, the Latin translator of Saadi at Amsterdam, was that Jew, as appears by 
 its being copied into Taylor s second edition, subsequent to its publication at Amster 
 dam in 1651. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNLx SMITH. 197 
 
 " CAMBRIDCJK, l&th September, 1848. 
 
 "Mr DEAR MRS. SMITH, 
 
 " I duly received, a sliort time since, your very inter 
 esting letter of the 7tli of July, with the copy of Mr. 
 Smith s speech, so kindly sent by you, and the memo 
 randum relative to the Parable 011 Persecution. The 
 speech, like every thing from the same source, breathes 
 a spirit of noble liberality and sound sense, which can 
 not be too highly praised. I am greatly indebted to you 
 for giving me the opportunity of adding it to the collec 
 tion of his works. 
 
 " The Parable on Persecution is one of the most curi 
 ous topics in literary history. It has often been made 
 the foundation of a charge of plagiarism against Dr. 
 Franklin, but, as I think, without foundation. In its 
 modern form, it was first published by Lord Kames, in 
 1774. lie says, 4 It was communicated to me by Dr. 
 Franklin of Philadelphia; but he does not say that Dr. 
 F. claimed the authorship of it. It was not long after 
 inserted in a small collection of Dr. Franklin s miscel 
 laneous writings, published by Mr. B. Yaughan (a gen 
 tleman recollected by Lord Lansdowne) in London. Mr. 
 Yaughan took it from Lord Kames s work. In 1788 it 
 was traced to its source in Gcntius s preface ; and Dr. 
 Franklin having been then charged with, plagiarism, 
 some friend well acquainted with his habits vindicated 
 him in the same work, the Repository, in which the 
 charge was made. These, and some other interesting 
 facts, are given in the new edition (Mr. Sparks s) of 
 Franklin s works, vol. ii. p. 118, which, with the note 
 to Bishop Ileber s Life of Jeremy Taylor, in the first 
 volume of the works, p. 3G5, contains, I believe, all 
 that is known on the subject. I see one slight mistake 
 in this learned note: it states that the famous parable 
 
198 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 did not appear in the first edition of the Liberty of 
 Prophesying, which was published in 1647, but in the 
 second, which was printed in 1657 ; the work of Gen- 
 tius having appeared in the interval. I have before me 
 a volume which purports to be the second edition of the 
 Liberty of Prophesying, published in London in 1702, 
 and not containing the parable, but this is quite imma 
 terial. 
 
 "I lean a little to the opinion, that Bishop Taylor 
 may have taken it from some Jewish book not yet dis 
 covered. There is no reason why, if he quoted Gentius, 
 he should not have named him. It appears from Bishop 
 Heber s learned note, that a Jewish author, whom he 
 names, thinks he has seen the parable among the com 
 mentaries on Genesis xviii. 1 ; and it is quite a curious 
 fact, that Saadi gives it as related to him, and that he, 
 according to his own account, while in captivity at Trip 
 oli, was compelled to work on the fortifications with 
 some Jews. Nothing seems more likely to have hap 
 pened than that a learned Jew, being a fellow-prisoner 
 with a learned Persian, should have related to him this 
 striking parable, of which the personages were the great 
 Jewish Patriarch, and a devotee of the old Persian su 
 perstition of fire-worship. 
 
 "Whatever be its source, there are few teachings as 
 impressive of Jewish or Christian wisdom. It is an 
 undoubted chapter of that great primitive Gospel, which 
 God has written in the hearts and consciences of men, 
 but which, like the page of revelation, is too apt to 
 be forgotten under the influence of selfish and corrupt 
 motives. 
 
 "I rejoice to hear that Mr. Smith s works are so fre 
 quently reprinted. In this way he will for ages to come 
 continue to teach lessons of toleration and humanity to all 
 who speak the English tongue. There is no one of my 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 199 
 
 friends in England, with respect to whom I am more fre 
 quently questioned than Mr. Smith ; and I esteem it one 
 of the chief blessings of my residence in London to have 
 known him, and been honored with so much of his kind 
 ness. 
 
 "I remain, my dear Mrs. Smith, with the highest re 
 gards, ever faithfully yours, 
 
 "EDWARD EVERETT." 
 
 On his appointment to the prebendal stall at Bristol, 
 he went for the first time to Court, and he give an amus 
 ing account of himself on the occasion : 
 
 "I found my colleague Tatc, the other day, in his 
 simplicity consulting the Archdeacon of Newfoundland 
 what he should wear at the levee a man who sits 
 bobbing for cod, and pocketing every tenth fish. How 
 ever, I did worse when I went, by consulting no one ; 
 and, through pure ignorance, going to the levee in 
 shoe-strings instead of shoe-buckles. I found, to my 
 surprise, people looking down, at my feet ; I could not 
 think what they were at. At first I thought they had 
 discovered the beauty of my legs, but at last the truth 
 burst on me, by some wag laughing, and thinking I 
 had done it as a good joke. I was of course exces 
 sively annoyed to have been supposed capable of such 
 a vulgar, unmeaning piece of disrespect, and kept my 
 feet as coyly under my petticoats as the veriest prude 
 in the country, till I could made my escape ; so per 
 haps, after all, I had better have followed my friend s 
 example." 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Happiness increased by his Promotion. Death of eldest Son. Re- 
 moval to Combe Florey. Rebuilding of House. Lord Jeffrey s last 
 Visit. Increased popularity at Bristol. Collects Contributions to 
 Review. French Revolution. Riots at Bristol. Speech on Reform. 
 Letters on Preferment. Appointed Canon of St. Paul s. Death 
 of Sir James Mackintosh in 1832. Marriage of eldest Daughter in 
 1834. Village Anecdotes. Christens Grandchild. Buys House in 
 Charles Street. Rectitude of Stewardship at St. Paul s. Tour to 
 Holland in 1S37. Talleyrand. Conversation in London, and Anec 
 dotes. Begins Controversy about Church. Petitions to House of 
 Lords. Inscription for Statue of Lord Grey. 
 
 His promotion in the Church was a step in life 
 which added very materially to my father s happi 
 ness. "Moralists tell you," said he, " of the evils of 
 wealth and station, and the happiness of poverty. I 
 have been very poor the greatest part of my life, and 
 have borne it as well, I believe, as most people, but I 
 can safely say that I have been happier every guinea I 
 have gained. I well remember, when Mrs. Sydney and 
 I were young, in London, with no other equipage than 
 my umbrella, when we went out to dinner in a hackney 
 coach (a vehicle, by-the-by, now become almost mat 
 ter of history), when the rattling step was let down, and 
 the proud, powdered red-plushes grinned, and her gown 
 was fringed with straw, how the iron entered into my 
 soul." 
 
 " I often thank God for my animal spirits. I called 
 
 the other day on my friend and neighbor B , and 
 
 found him moping over the fire, wringing his hands, 
 and in a state of the deepest melancholy. Why, B , 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 201 
 
 what is the matter ? Here you are in the prime of life, 
 with health, talents, education, a sensible wife, pleas 
 ing children, just come into possession of this fine old 
 place, and a good fortune, and have moreover the ines 
 timable advantage of having me for a neighbor ; what on 
 earth can you want more to make you happy ? Very 
 true, Sydney, very true ; but (with a deep sigh) have 
 you considered the state of my roads ? No, I said, I 
 have certainly not taken that point into consideration, 
 
 but in future I will ; so good morning, B . While 
 
 I, who have never had a house, or land, or a farthing to 
 spare, am sometimes mad with spirits, and must talk, 
 laugh, or burst." 
 
 He had now need of all his elasticity of spirits, for 
 there came upon him what he declares was the first real 
 sorrow he had known and in truth it was a heavy one 
 the death of his eldest son Douglas, just as he had 
 reached maturity, and gave promise of every excellence, 
 both of heart and mind, that could endear him to his 
 parents or gratify their pride. 
 
 He died, after a long and painful illness, in town, 
 in the year 1829. I see, in my father s note-book, this 
 simple entry: "April 14th. My beloved son Douglas 
 died, aged twenty-four. Alas! alas!" And afterward : 
 " So ends this year of my life a year of sorrow, from 
 the loss of my beloved son Douglas the first great mis 
 fortune of my life, and one which I shall never forget." 
 In his last hours he often called his youngest son by the 
 name of Douglas, showing that even then he was still in 
 his thoughts. 
 
 It was perhaps well for all parties, that, his promo 
 tion to the prebendal stall at Bristol having also en 
 titled him to one of their livings, it became necessary 
 for my father to resign Foston, and settle in Somerset 
 shire ; and here again the kindness of Lord Lyndhnrst 
 
 I* 
 
202 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 enabled him to exchange Fostoii for the much smaller, 
 but more beautifully situated living, of Combe Florey, 
 near Taunton. 
 
 We all at the time deeply regretted leaving our old 
 haunts in Yorkshire, where we had lived so long, re 
 ceived so much hospitality, and made so many kind 
 friends ; but this entire change of scene, and the neces 
 sity for immediate exertion, was very useful to all under 
 this severe affliction. 
 
 In the following letter, just sent me by one of our 
 kind Yorkshire neighbors, he alludes touchingiy to 
 these feelings of regret for his lost son Douglas : 
 
 " COMBE FLOREY, August G, 1829. 
 
 "DEAR MRS. THOMSON,* 
 
 U I never heard till I came here of the intended kind 
 ness of Mr. Thomson and yourself, with a view to my 
 remaining in Yorkshire. I was sensibly touched with 
 it, and have laid it up in the archives of my mind. As 
 to wood and lawn, cedar and fur, and pine and branch 
 ing palm, I have exchanged for the better. Good, ex 
 cellent, and amiable friends, such as we met with at 
 Escrich, I did not expect to find. Fortune may grant 
 such favors once in a life, but they must not be counted 
 upon. Your family are always among our sincere re 
 grets. This is a beautiful place ; the house larger than 
 Foston, with a wood of three or four acres belonging to 
 it close to the house, and a glebe of sixty acres sur 
 rounding it, in a country every where most beautiful 
 and fertile. The people are starving in the last stage 
 of poverty and depression. Mrs. Sydney, from sorrow 
 and novelty, has forgotten her throat ; I think the com 
 plaint has nearly vanished. I am busy from morning 
 * The present Dowager Lady Wenlock. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 203 
 
 till night in building not from the love of architecture, 
 but from the fear of death not from a preference for 
 any particular collocation of stones, but from an appre 
 hension that, disdaining all collocation (as they are apt 
 to do in ancient parsonages), they should come thun 
 dering about my head. In the mean time I have, from 
 time to time, bitter visitations of sorrow. I never sus 
 pected how children weave themselves about the heart. 
 My son had that quality which is longest remembered 
 by those who remain behind a deep and earnest affec 
 tion and respect for his parents. God save you, my 
 dear Mrs. Thomson, from similar distress! Have you 
 read s America ? If you have, I hope you dislike 
 it as much as I do. It is amusing, but very unjust 
 and unfair. It will make his fortune at the Admi 
 ralty. Then he temporizes about the Slave Trade ; 
 with which no man should ever hold parley, but speak 
 of it with abhorrence, as the greatest of all human 
 abominations. We stay here till the beginning of the 
 year, and then go into residence at Bristol. I hope to 
 be in town in the spring, and hereafter to pay you 
 a visit in Yorkshire, which will be a great pleasure to 
 me. Accept, my dear Mrs. and Mr. Thomson, our 
 united respect and regards, 
 
 "And believe me, 
 
 " Your sincere friend, 
 
 " SYDNEY SMITH." 
 
 We had almost to begin the labors of Foston over 
 again, as we found the parsonage -house at Combe 
 Florey in a most ruinous state, and requiring instant 
 attention. But my father now brought considerable 
 experience and increased wealth to the task ; and, es 
 tablishing us in one corner of the house, he turned in an 
 immense gang of workmen, and in a very short time 
 
204 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 (at the expense of about two thousand pounds more of 
 loss to his family, having almost to rebuild it) made 
 one of the most comfortable and charming parsonage- 
 houses I have ever seen a striking contrast, I must 
 own, in every way, to poor Foston, of which our friend 
 Mr. Loch, when he heard we had left it, said to my fa 
 ther, "Are you sure you have left Foston, Mr. Smith?" 
 " Yes." "Never to return? "Never." "Well, then, 
 I may venture to say that it was, without exception, the 
 ugliest house I ever saw." 
 
 The climate, the vegetation, and the soil were all in 
 strong contrast to the north ; and it well deserved the 
 name of Combe Florey, for it really was a valley of 
 flowers a lovely little spot, where nature and art com 
 bined to realize the Happy Valley. 
 
 In the midst of our building operations, w T hen the 
 greater part of the roof of the house, which required 
 renewing, was put together in rafters on the lawn, we 
 received a visit from our friend Lord Jeffrey. I well 
 remember our sitting out there amidst the rafters, sur 
 rounded by busy workmen, and animated by the deli 
 cious weather and the beauty of the scene around. He 
 and my father gave full play to their fancy and imagin 
 ation ; and nothing could be more delightful than to sit 
 and watch them, and listen to the playfulness and vari 
 ety of their conversation. I have, I believe, omitted 
 several of Lord Jeffrey s visits ; having no other recol 
 lections of them, I am sorry to say, than that of the 
 pleasure they always afforded to both old and young. 
 But this, I think, was his last visit to us ; and it was 
 touching to observe these two eminent men, who had 
 begun the struggle of life together, who had loved each 
 other so long and so well, who had both now attained 
 eminence and honor in their respective professions with 
 out one act of baseness, sitting together in this little 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 205 
 
 earthly paradise, and, in their elder age, talking over 
 and looking back on the past with all the pleasure and 
 satisfaction of well-spent lives. Such scenes are pleas 
 ant and useful to dwell upon. 
 
 As a dignitary of the Church, my father now thought 
 it more becoming to put his name to what he should 
 
 i hereafter write, and he therefore withdrew from the 
 Edinburgh Review ; collecting and publishing about 
 
 \ ten years after the greater part of his contributions to 
 it. He says, on doing so: "I see very little in my 
 reviews to alter or repent of. I always endeavored to 
 fight against evil, and what I thought evil then I 
 think evil now. I am heartily glad that all our dis 
 qualifying laws for religious opinions are abolished, 
 and I see nothing in such measures but unmixed good 
 and real increase of strength to the Establishment. 
 To set on foot such a journal in such times, to con 
 tribute toward it for many years, to bear patiently the 
 reproach and poverty which it caused, and to look 
 back and see that I have nothing to retract, and no 
 intemperance and violence to reproach myself with, 
 is a career of life which I must think to be extremely 
 fortunate. 
 
 " Strange and ludicrous are the changes in human 
 affairs ! The Tories are now on the tread-mill, and the 
 well-paid Whigs are riding in chariots ; with many faces, 
 however, looking out of the windows (including that of 
 our Prime Minister), which I never remember to have 
 seen in the days of poverty and depression of Whig- 
 gism. Liberality is now a lucrative business. Who 
 ever has any institution to destroy, may consider him 
 self as a commissioner, and his fortune made ; and, 
 to my utter and never-ending astonishment, I, an old 
 Edinburgh Reviewer, find myself fighting, in the year 
 1839, against the Archbishop of Canterbury and the 
 
206 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 Bishop of London for the existence of the National 
 Church." 
 
 In the winter of the year 1830 we all accompanied 
 my father to his residence in Bristol, where his popular 
 ity increased more and more, in spite of the firmness 
 with which he preached many unpalatable doctrines, 
 and the minuteness with which he felt it his duty to in 
 vestigate all the affairs of the Cathedral and Chapter. 
 These, up to this time, had been left very much to take 
 care of themselves : and as it was nobody s business to 
 look after them, they had fallen into great confusion and 
 disorder. 
 
 This year the French Revolution took place (the prob 
 ability of which he had foretold in his letters from Paris 
 in 1826), producing the greatest consternation, distress, 
 and excitement on the Continent. 
 
 In this country the riots at Bristol had broken out in 
 the spring ; and, later in the year, the resignation of the 
 Duke of Wellington, the introduction of the Reform Bill 
 after Lord Grey s acceptance of the Ministry, the oppo 
 sition to it in the House of Lords, and the dissolution 
 of the Parliament, were exciting the deepest interest, 
 and producing the greatest danger of violence and dis 
 turbance in every part of England. 
 
 There was to be a large county meeting held on the 
 subject at Taunton ; and though, as a clergyman, my 
 father generally avoided meetings purely political, yet 
 at the present moment he saw so much dangerous ex 
 citement at work among the people, and felt the crisis 
 to be one of such vital importance to the country, that 
 lie considered it the duty of every man, who had the 
 power so to do, to raise his voice in favor of law and 
 order ; and to urge the people with calmness and perse 
 verance to obtain those objects they would inevitably 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 207 
 
 lose by violence. In this speech, among other things, 
 he says : 
 
 "Nothing can be more different than personal and 
 political fear : it is the artifice of our opponents to con 
 found them together. . . . The greater part of human 
 improvements, I am sorry to say, are made after war, 
 tumult, bloodshed, and civil commotion. . . . Mankind 
 seem to object to every species of gratuitous happiness, 
 and to consider every advantage as too cheap which is 
 not purchased by some calamity. ... I shall esteem 
 it a singular act of God s providence if this great nation, 
 guided by these warnings of history, not waiting till 
 tumult for reform, not trusting reform to the lowest of 
 the people, shall amend their decayed institutions, at a 
 period when they are ruled by a popular Sovereign, 
 guided by an upright minister, and blest with profound 
 peace. ... If many are benejftted by reform, and the 
 lower orders are not injured, this alone is reason enough 
 for the change. But the hewer of wood and the drawer 
 of water are benefited by reform ; and the connection 
 between the existence of John Russell and the reduced 
 price of bread and cheese will be as clear as it has been 
 the object of his honest, wise, and useful life to make 
 it. Don t be led away by nonsense. All things arc 
 dearer under a bad government, and cheaper under a 
 good one. ... I am old and tired thank me for end 
 ing ; but one word more before I sit down. I am old, 
 but I thank God I have lived to see more than my ob 
 servations on human nature taught me I had any right 
 to expect. I have lived to see an honest King, in whose 
 word his ministers could trust. I have lived to see a 
 King with a good heart, who, surrounded by nobles, 
 thinks of common men ; who loves the great mass of 
 English people, and wishes to be loved by them ; and 
 
208 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 who, in spite of clamor, interest, prejudice, and fear, has 
 the manliness to carry these wise changes into immediate 
 execution. Gentlemen, farewell ! Shout for the King I 
 
 We attended him to the meeting. I had often seen 
 the silent effect produced by his eloquence in crowded 
 cathedrals, but I never before saw its effect on a multi 
 tude free to express their feelings ; and were I to live a 
 thousand years, I should never forget it. 
 
 His voice seemed heard without effort in every part 
 of the assembly ; his words flowed with unbroken flu 
 ency; his language was simple and nervous; he seemed 
 to hold the very heart-strings of the people in his hands, 
 and to play upon them, as upon an instrument, at his 
 pleasure ; and when at last he sat down, the thunders 
 of applause from that sea of heads beneath was perfectly 
 thrilling. Such an exhibition of his powers filled one 
 with regret that his voice was never likely to be raised 
 in that assembly of his country where his talents and 
 his character would have made him such an ornament, 
 and where that noble voice would have been always 
 raised for such noble purposes. 
 
 And here I must allude to what my father was too 
 proud to speak of, except in two or three confidential 
 letters to some of his oldest friends. Though he had 
 at this period a firm conviction that a bishopric would 
 be destructive of his peace and happiness, and a still 
 firmer determination, in consequence, to reject it, should 
 it ever be offered, yet I know he felt deeply to the hour 
 of his death, that those by whose side he had fought for 
 fifty years so bravely and so honestly in their adversity, 
 and with the most unblemished reputation as a clergy 
 man, should in their prosperity never have offered him 
 that which they were bestowing on many, only known 
 at that time, according to public report (whatever merits 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 209 
 
 they may have since evinced), for their mediocrity or 
 unpopularity. 
 
 He says, in one of these letters, after expressing his 
 feeling on this subject : "But, thank God, I never acted 
 from the hope of preferment, but from the love of justice 
 and truth which was bursting within me. When I be 
 gan to express my opinions on Church politics, what 
 hope could any but a madman have of gaining prefer 
 ment by such a line of conduct ?" 
 
 In another letter again he says: "It is perhaps of 
 little consequence to any party whether I adhere to it or 
 not ; but I always shall adhere to the Whigs, whoever 
 may be put over my head ; because I have an ardent 
 love of truth and justice, and they are its best defenders. 
 But, adhering to them under all circumstances, I can 
 not but feel whether I am well or ill used by them." 
 
 This silence on his part I should have observed like 
 wise, had not Lord Melbourne, with that noble candor 
 for which his character was so remarkable, admitted 
 the injury my father felt, and done my father the tardy 
 justice of stating to a gentleman, a mutual friend, and 
 a man of great accuracy (who came direct from his house 
 expressly to state it to me), "That Lord Melbourne 
 said there was nothing he more deeply regretted, in 
 looking back on his past career, than the not having 
 made Sydney Smith a bishop." 
 
 And a juster cause of regret, I believe, was never 
 felt. For my father s estimate of what a bishop ought 
 to be was so high, he was so bound in honor by his 
 own writings to become what he had required others to 
 be, and his power of doing what he felt he ought to do 
 was so great,* that, had he ever accepted the offer, 
 
 * He says, on one occasion, " I hope I am too much a man of honor 
 to take an office without fashioning my manners and conversation so 
 as not to bring it into discredit." 
 
210 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 which I again repeat I firmly believe he never would at 
 this period of his life (though ardently desiring it when 
 he was a younger man), I as firmly believe there would 
 have been no act in the whole of Lord Melbourne s Min 
 istry that would have reflected more honor and distinc 
 tion on him. But I bless his memory for this wish only 
 of justice to my father. 
 
 The following short, manly statement of his case, in 
 a letter to Lord John Russell, on the subject of his pre 
 ferment, seems, as it were, to be extorted from him by 
 that sense of justice which so powerfully influenced his 
 feelings through life toward every person, and on every 
 subject, less than by any wish to exalt himself, and 
 therefore, to a certain degree, carries conviction with it : 
 "I defy - - to quote one single passage of my writing- 
 contrary to the doctrines of the Church. I defy him to 
 mention a single action of my life w^hich he can call im 
 moral. The only thing he could charge me with would 
 be high spirits, and much innocent nonsense. I am 
 distinguished as a preacher, and sedulous as a parochial 
 clergyman. His real charge against me is that I am a 
 high-spirited, honest, uncompromising man, whom he 
 and all the bench of bishops could not turn upon vital 
 questions : this is the reason why, as far as depends upon 
 others, I am not a bishop. But I am thoroughly sincere 
 in saying, I would not take any bishopric whatever."* 
 
 I find a letter, written by his friend Lord John Rus- 
 sel, in answer, from which I shall give an extract, as it 
 shows that this wish to do justice to my father was 
 shared by his old friend, Lord John, likewise : 
 
 " MY DEAR SYDNEY I think you are quite right not 
 to be ambitious of the prelacy, as it would lead to much 
 
 * I see in this letter that he urges strongly the appointment of sev- 
 eral of his friends, and apparently not without effect. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 211 
 
 disquiet for you ; but if I had entirely my own way in 
 these matters, you should have the opportunity of re 
 fusing it." 
 
 And again, my father wrote at a later period to Lord 
 Holland, saying, " You have said and written that you 
 wished to see me a bishop, and, I have no doubt, would 
 try to carry your wishes into effect. If proper vacancies 
 had occurred in the beginning of Lord Grey s adminis 
 tration, I believe this would have been done. Other 
 politicians have succeeded, who entertain no such notion. 
 But there is a still greater obstacle to my promotion, 
 and that is, that I have entirely lost all wish to be a 
 bishop. The thought is erased from my mind, and, in 
 the very improbable event of a bishopric being offered 
 me, I would steadily refuse it. In this I am perfectly 
 honest and sincere, and make this communication to 
 you to prevent your friendly exertion in my favor, and 
 perhaps to spare you the regret of making that exertion 
 in vain." 
 
 I lament to find that a beautiful sketch he one day 
 drew of what he conceived the duties of a bishop to be, 
 has been lost from among his papers. But the follow 
 ing short extract from his fragment on the Irish Church 
 sufficiently shows what he felt to be the duties of so 
 exalted a station ; though even here, as usual, he draws 
 no ideal picture of excellence, impossible to attain, but 
 one within the reach of any man of sense and real piety : 
 
 "What a blessing to this country would a real bishop 
 bo f 
 
 f * 
 
 " But I never remember in my time a real bishop a 
 grave, elderly man, full of Greek, with sound views of 
 the middle voice and prcterpluperfect tense, gentle and 
 kind to his poor clergy, of powerful and commanding 
 eloquence, in Parliament never to be put down when 
 
212 MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 the great interests of mankind were concerned ; leaning 
 to the Government when it was right, leaning to the 
 people when they were right ; feeling .that if the Spirit 
 of God had called him to that high office, he was called 
 for no mean purpose, but rather that seeing clearly, act- 
 ing"boldly, and intending purely, he might confer lasting 
 benefit upon mankind." 
 
 There were at this time so many mischievous publi 
 cations circulating among the people, and threatening 
 letters so frequently sent to my father and other gentle 
 men in the neighborhood, that he thought it right to en 
 deavor to counteract them, and published some cheap 
 letters for circulation among the poor, called "Letters to 
 Swing," of which the following is one which has been 
 accidentally preserved : 
 
 From the "Taunton Courier" of Wednesday, Dec. 8th, 1830. 
 
 " To MR. SWING. 
 
 " The wool your coat is made of is spun by machin 
 ery, and this machinery makes your coat two or three 
 shillings cheaper perhaps six or seven. Your white 
 hat is made by machinery at half price. The coals 
 you burn are pulled out of the pit by machinery, and 
 are sold to you much cheaper than they could be if 
 they were pulled out by hand. You do not complain 
 of these machines, because they do you good, though 
 they throw many artisans out of work. But what right 
 have you to object to fanning machines, which make 
 bread cheaper to the artisans, and to avail yourselves 
 of other machines which make manufactures cheaper to 
 you? 
 
 "If all machinery were abolished, every thing would 
 be so dear that you would be ten times worse off than 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 218 
 
 you now are. Poor people s cloth would get up to a 
 guinea a yard. Hats could not be sold for less than 
 eighteen shillings. Coals would be three shillings per 
 hundred. It would be quite impossible for a poor man 
 to obtain any comfort. 
 
 "If you begin to object to machinery in farming, 
 you may as well object to a plow, because it employs 
 fewer men than a spade. You may object to a harrow, 
 because it employs fewer men than a rake. You may 
 object even to a spade, because it employs fewer men 
 than fingers and sticks, with which savages scratch {he 
 ground in Otaheitc. If you expect manufacturers to 
 turn against machinery, look at the consequence. They 
 may succeed, perhaps, in driving machinery out of the 
 town they live in, but they often drive the manufac 
 turer out of the town also. He sets up his trade in 
 some distant part of the country, gets new men, and 
 the disciples of Swing are left to starve in the scene 
 of their violence and folly. In this way the lace manu 
 facture traveled in the time of Ludd, Swing s grand 
 father, from Nottingham to Tiverton. Suppose a free 
 importation of corn to be allowed, as it ought to be, 
 and will be. If you will not allow farmers to grow 
 corn here as cheap as they can, more corn will come 
 from America ; for every thrashing-machine that is de 
 stroyed, more Americans will be employed, not more 
 Englishmen. 
 
 4 Swing! Swing! you are a stout fellow, but you 
 are a bad adviser. The law is up, and the Judge is 
 coming. Fifty persons in Kent are already transport 
 ed, and will see their wives and children no more. 
 Sixty persons will be hanged in Hampshire. There 
 are two hundred for trial in Wiltshire all scholars of 
 Swing ! I am no farmer : I have not a machine bigger 
 than a pepper-mill. I am a sincere friend to the poor, 
 
214 MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 and I think every man should live by his labor : but it 
 cuts me to the very heart to see honest husbandmen 
 perishing by that worst of all machines, the gallows 
 under the guidance of that most fatal of all leaders 
 Swing!" 
 
 One of the earliest uses he made of his increase of 
 wealth was to indulge himself by enlarging his library, 
 and supplying those deficiencies before alluded to, which 
 he had so long suffered under ; and his books, which 
 at Foston for many years had humbly occupied only 
 the end of his little dining-room, now boldly spread 
 themselves over three sides of a pretty odd room, digni 
 fied by the name of library about twenty-eight feet 
 long and eight feet high ending in a bay-window sup 
 ported by pillars, looking into the garden, and which he 
 had obtained by throwing a pantry, a passage, and a 
 shoe-hole together. In this pretty, gay room we break 
 fasted, he sat, and when alone we spent the evening 
 with him. He used to say, "No furniture so charming 
 as books, even if you never open them, or read a single 
 word." 
 
 The cholera was now spreading rapidly over the coun 
 try, and exciting the greatest alarm and anxiety. This 
 immediately set all my father s energy to work, to have 
 every remedy at hand for himself and the poor of his 
 parish, and to take every precaution which the learned 
 suggested : one of these was, never to read the accounts 
 of its progress, which often produced such panic that 
 the patient was half dead of fear before the cholera ar 
 rived to perfect the deed. Luckily, however, neither his 
 remedies nor his precautions proved necessary, as the 
 cholera respected our little, happy valley, and never came 
 near us. 
 
 In October, Lord John Eussell and his family came 
 
MEMO Jit OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 215 
 
 to see us ; and a joyful visit it was, as the Whigs had 
 again assumed the reins of Government under their dis 
 tinguished leader Lord Grey, and, with their return, 
 gave assurance of obtaining the Eeform Bill, and thus 
 tranquilizing the country. 
 
 Shortly after, when we were staying on a visit with 
 Lord Morley at Saltram, my father received the news 
 L that Lord Grey* had appointed him to a prebendal 
 I stall at St. Paul s, in exchange for the one of inferior 
 value he held at Bristol, which had previously been pre 
 sented to him by his friend Lord Lyndhurst.t These 
 glad tidings, together with the charm of the place, the 
 weather, the society of our charming hostess, and the 
 many kind, warm old friends he found assembled there, 
 who all seemed to rejoice really as if the benefit had 
 been conferred on themselves, produced such an effect 
 on his spirits, that it would be difficult to forget that 
 week. I hardly ever remember him more brilliant. On 
 his return he wrote the little squib of Mrs. Partington 
 and her battle with the Atlantic, which had a success 
 quite unlooked-for, spreading in every direction ; and 
 sketches of Mrs. Partington and her mop were to be 
 seen in the windows of all the picture-shops about the 
 country. 
 
 1832. This year brought with it, among other 
 events, the loss of one of his early and most valued 
 friends, Sir James Mackintosh ; just at the moment 
 when his mind seemed in the highest vigor, and he 
 was preparing for the world some of his most important 
 works. 
 
 Their strong friendship had been much cemented by 
 
 * One of the first things Lord Grey said on entering Downing Street, 
 to a relation who was with him, was, "Now I shall be able to do some 
 thing for Sydney Smith." 
 
 f His brother Bobus used to say that Sydney s life was the only in 
 stance of underrating honesty that he had ever known to answer. 
 
210 MEMOlll OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 the intimacy of my mother with the ladies of his family, 
 and his loss was deeply lamented by both. My father 
 loved to think of Sir James, to speak of his virtues, and 
 describe him ; and it was a gratification to his feelings 
 publicly to express his admiration of his old friend in 
 the letter he addressed to his son, Mr. Mackintosh, and 
 published in his Life of his father. In this he says : 
 "When I turn from living spectacles of stupidity, ig 
 norance, and malice, and wish to think better of the 
 world, I remember my great and benevolent friend 
 Mackintosh." And, speaking of his love of truth, his 
 memory, and his knowledge, he says: "Those who 
 lived with him found they were gaining upon doubt, 
 correcting error, enlarging the boundaries and strength 
 ening the foundations of truth." And again he says: 
 " Whatever might assuage the angry passions, and ar 
 range the conflicting interests of nations ; whatever could 
 promote peace, increase knowledge, extend commerce, 
 diminish crime, and encourage industry; whatever could 
 exalt human character, and could enlarge human under 
 standing, struck at once to the heart of your father, and 
 roused all his faculties. I have seen him in a moment, 
 when this spirit came upon him, like a great ship of 
 war, cut his cable, and spread his enormous canvas, and 
 launch into a wide sea of reasoning eloquence." 
 
 During Sir James s absence in Bombay, my father 
 had been in the habit of writing constantly to him, to 
 tell him all that was going on in Europe. But these 
 letters, full of interest, though kindly returned by Mr. 
 Mackintosh on the deatli of his father, have, I fear, to 
 gether with all the letters of my father s boyhood, pre 
 served carefully by his poor mother, and given to mine, 
 fallen a sacrifice to my father s mania for burning papers. 
 I remember these early letters of his were most original 
 and characteristic ; and it was one of our greatest pleas- 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 217 
 
 tires as children to hear them read aloud in the evening 
 by my mother. There was likewise a large collection 
 of letters to his friend Horncr, which he destroyed from 
 thinking them of no value ; but which would have been 
 among the most interesting of his correspondence, as 
 there were few whom he more loved, trusted, and hon 
 ored. 
 
 In 1834 my father took a house for a short time in 
 Stratford Place, from whence his eldest daughter was 
 married to Dr. Holland. On this occasion he writes 
 to Lady Holland: "We are about to be married; and 
 Saba will be one day Lady Holland : she must then fit 
 herself up with Luttrells, Rogers, and John Hussells, 
 etc., etc. : Sydney Smith she has." In the summer he 
 welcomed Dr. Holland s three children, as if they had 
 been his own, to spend the whole autumn in his house 
 at Combe Florey. 
 
 While we were there, he was writing one morning in 
 his favorite bay-window, when a pompous little man, in 
 rusty black, was ushered in. "May I ask what pro 
 cures me the honor of this visit ?" said my father. 
 "Oh," said the little man, "I am compounding a his 
 tory of the distinguished families in Somersetshire, and 
 have called to obtain the Smith arms." "I regret, sir," 
 said my father, "not to be able to contribute to so val 
 uable a work ; but the Smiths never had any arms, and 
 have invariably sealed their letters with their thumbs." 
 
 In truth, he could not have stumbled on a more per 
 fect Goth than my father on the subject of ancestral 
 distinctions. For though the Smiths were not literally 
 reduced to their thumbs, yet, feeling how completely 
 he had been the maker of his own fortunes, my father 
 adopted the motto for his aarriage of "Faber mea? for- 
 tuna3." He loved to repeat that answer of Junot to tlw 
 old noblesse, when boasting of their line of ancestors : 
 VOL. I.K 
 
218 MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 "All, ma foi ! jc n cii sals rien ; moi je suis mon an- 
 cetre." 
 
 During Lord Grey s administration, which terminated 
 in July, 1834, there had "been but two or three vacan 
 cies for bishoprics in England (Ireland, for my father, 
 was out of the question). There were, of course, nu 
 merous claims on Lord Grey ; and out of this small 
 number, King William IV., from kindness to Lord 
 Grey, insisted on appointing Dr. Grey, his "brother, 
 without even consulting Lord Grey. Had Lord Grey 
 had more to bestow and remained longer in power, I 
 have good reason to believe that his old friend Sydney 
 Smith would not have been forgotten. This belief, it 
 has been seen, my father stated in his letters during 
 Lord -Grey s life and since his death I find it con 
 firmed, from papers I possess, by one who best knew 
 Lord Grey s feelings. 
 
 I think it was about this period that an incident hap 
 pened to a poor half-mad woman, who lived at the end 
 of our village with a drunken husband, and a swarm 
 of children all sunk, in consequence, into a hopeless 
 state of poverty, dirt, and idleness, save one son, who, 
 strange to say, had escaped the general contagion. This 
 boy, first at school, then as apprentice to a shoemaker 
 in a neighboring village, had established a high charac 
 ter, and was the pride of his old mother s heart. Un 
 fortunately, on carrying home some work, he was tempt 
 ed into a public-house to drink (what no Somersetshire 
 man can resist) a draught of cider. Some strangers 
 were in the room, and shortly after the boy s entrance 
 a silk handkerchief was missed, immediate search made, 
 and the handkerchief found on young Treble, to the 
 poor boy s utter horror. A warrant was obtained, the 
 boy taken before the magistrates, who, upon the evi 
 dence, and the general character of the family, were 
 
MEMOIll OF THE KEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 219 
 
 about to commit him to prison. The poor old mother, 
 frantic with grief, came before my father, imploring his 
 assistance, and asserting the entire innocence of her son. 
 My father, no longer a magistrate, but touched by her 
 sorrow, and believing the possible innocence of the boy 
 from his previous knowledge of him, undertook the af 
 fair ; went instantly to a neighboring village, where the 
 magistrates were sitting ; obtained with some difficulty 
 a delay, upon his undertaking to bring fresh evidence in 
 favor of the boy ; and then, with as much ardor as if 
 his own life, and honor, and every thing he held most 
 dear, were at stake, he wrote, lie investigated, he cross- 
 examined for nearly a week, and on the day appointed 
 attended the trial. He secured the best lawyer he could 
 find to conduct the cause ; then, I believe, spoke for the 
 boy himself; and, by the evidence he produced, suc 
 ceeded in showing, to the satisfaction of all, that the 
 handkerchief had been hid where the boy could not 
 have hid it under the circumstances ; and that the real 
 culprit was undoubtedly one of the men present, of no 
 toriously bad character, who, to save himself, when the 
 search was made, dexterously contrived to stuff it down 
 the innocent boy s collar as he was pretending to assist 
 in the search. 
 
 Treble was acquitted; and the wild joy and grati 
 tude of the old ragged mother were deeply felt by my 
 father, and her prayers for her protector I can not be 
 lieve were unheard in Heaven. 
 
 He never shrank from any duty, however revolting 
 to his feelings. On one occasion he set out on a win 
 ter s night, lantern in hand, to visit a poor cottager 
 seized with epileptic fits, of which, from some painful 
 early associations, he had a peculiar horror ; but they 
 wished for him, and he went as usual ; and I remem 
 ber on his return he was much overpowered by the 
 
220 MEMOIR OF THE KEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 scene he had witnessed, which haunted him for many- 
 days. Several volumes of manuscript remain of his pre 
 scriptions for the poor, of which he always kept a re 
 cord, that he might refer to them if necessary ; and they 
 now help me to bear testimony to his attentions and 
 kindness to them. 
 
 Soon after coming to town the following year, at my 
 request, he christened my eldest girl ; and the emotion 
 and deep feeling he evinced on the occasion added not a 
 little, I remember, to the impressiveness of that beauti 
 ful service. On this occasion Miss Fox, Lord Hol 
 land s sister, stood as godmother to my little girl, and 
 bestowed on her her own name. A few years ago my 
 old friend Mr. Rogers said to me, "What a privileged 
 person you are, to have had such a father and such 
 an uncle!" In truth I feel it so. But he might have 
 added, "And such a friend as Miss Fox," though I 
 must share this last with so many; for who was ever 
 so loved, so honored, or so worthy to be so, as Miss 
 Fox? Not to speak of her understanding (which was 
 such as is rarely bestowed on women), there was such 
 an atmosphere of purity, simplicity, and indulgent kind 
 ness about her, that all evil passions seemed to fly away 
 at her approach, and a better and more amiable tone to 
 be infused into society. Her heart was as a spot to 
 repose on in the moral world, a place of refuge in dis 
 tress, of sympathy in joy or sorrow, and of warm un 
 varying friendship in weal or woe. 
 
 In the autumn my father bought a small house in 
 Charles Street, No. 33, near St. John s Chapel, where 
 he had preached with so much success when a young- 
 man on first coming to London ; and he gives a comic 
 al account, in one of his letters, of the short time he 
 should require to paper, paint, furnish it, and set it in 
 order. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 221 
 
 In October lie took my mother and Mr. and Mrs. 
 Hibbcrt to Paris for a short time ; and in November 
 came to town for his residence at St. Paul s and to 
 enter upon his new duties there, to his performance 
 of which (even those least known to the world, and 
 which he might have neglected almost without blame) 
 some of his fellow-laborers have given most kind and 
 gratifying testimony, as I find in this letter to Lady 
 B , sent to my mother from Mr. Cockerell, archi 
 tect and superintendent of St. Paul s Cathedral, which 
 I give, as showing a part of his character little known 
 to the world his powers of business : 
 
 "IlAMPSTEAD, Oct.24:th, 1851. 
 
 " DEAR LADY B , 
 
 "I have great pleasure in committing to writing, ac 
 cording to your request, some of those anecdotes on the 
 practical qualities of our lamented friend, the Rev. Syd 
 ney Smith, which you listened to with so much interest 
 last year. Referring as they do to his Gesta as Canon 
 Residentiary of St. Paul s, superintending more espe 
 cially the repairs of the fabric, and my agency therein as 
 the appointed surveyor and paymaster ; they certainly 
 exhibit the bold originality of his mind, and the integ 
 rity of his habits in the common transactions of busi 
 ness, in which duty and fidelity arc alone concerned, 
 with as much advantage as the better-known acts of his 
 public life. And you justly insist upon my relation of 
 them, however humble, and commonly considered be 
 neath the dignity of biography ; as perhaps more illus 
 trative of conscientious motive and intrinsic merit, than 
 the more striking talents which made him so justly 
 valued and admired by the world, and as exhibiting 
 his character from a point of view not hitherto perhaps 
 taken sufficiently into account. 
 
222 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 "The routine and technical conduct of the current 
 "business of public bodies is ordinarily committed confi 
 dentially by them to those hands which have .been found 
 worthy* of the trust ; but on his appointment the new 
 Canon avowed his diffidence of them in general. His 
 experience, acquired by the habit of careful observation, 
 had taught him to suspect, wherever the clearest evi 
 dence of rectitude was deficient ; and he investigated 
 with the greatest minuteness all transactions which 
 were placed under his superintendence, and that with a 
 severity of discipline neither called for nor agreeable. 
 
 "His early communications, therefore, with myself, 
 and I may say with all the officers of the Chapter, were 
 extremely unpleasant ; but when satisfied by his meth 
 ods of investigation, and by a little collision, as he 
 termed it, that all was honest and right, nothing could be 
 more candid or kind than his subsequent treatment ; and 
 our early dislike was at length converted into unalloyed 
 confidence and regard. As he expressed himself to one 
 of the most valued of our staff, When I heard every 
 one speak well of you, I entertained the most vehement 
 suspicions ; and I treated you as a rogue until I had 
 tried you so far, that you could endure such harsh treat 
 ment no longer. 
 
 "As nothing was taken upon trust at first, great 
 were our disputes as to contracts, materials, and prices : 
 with all of which, from the rates in the market, to those 
 of Portland stone, putty, and white lead, he armed him 
 self with competent information: every item was taxed, 
 and we owe several important improvements in the ad 
 ministration^ of the works and accounts to his acumen, 
 punctuality, and vigor. J^ot only did he thus adjust 
 and scrutinize the payment of works, but nothing new 
 could be undertaken without his survey and personal 
 superintendence. An unpracticcd head and a podagrous 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 223 
 
 disposition of limbs might well have excused the survey 
 of those pinnacles and heights of our cathedral, which 
 are to all Loth awful and fatiguing ; but nothing daunted 
 him ; and once, when I suggested a fear that his portly 
 person might stick fast in a narrow opening of the west 
 ern towers, which we were surveying, he reassured me 
 by declaring, that if there were six inches of space, 
 there would be room enough for him. 
 
 "During more than a quarter of a century of my 
 direction of these repairs, I had met with no similar 
 sacrifice or minute attention to this department ; and 
 when it is remembered that this duty in no degree affects 
 the funds of the Dean and Chapter, and that these re 
 pairs are from a separate fund, the administration of 
 which only is intrusted to one of the Canons, we shall 
 the more admire so conscientious a discharge of this 
 duty. Such was the minor process ; but the greater 
 measures for the enduring security of this magnificent 
 cathedral were most important and conspicuous. The 
 disasters of York Cathedral had exhibited the unwarrant 
 able neglect, so general in these sacred edifices, of the 
 common security of insurance ; and in 1840, I believe, 
 Canterbury was the only cathedral church insured. St. 
 Paul s was speedily and effectually insured in some of 
 the most substantial offices of London : not satisfied with 
 this security, he advised the introduction of the mains 
 of the New River into the lower parts of the fabric, and 
 cisterns and movable engines in the roof; and quite just 
 ifiable was his joke, that he would reproduce the Del 
 uge in our cathedral. 
 
 "The fine library of the fabric, the estimation of which 
 was always cited by Dean Vanmildert, had long suffered 
 by dilapidation and damp ; but a stove, American in 
 deed, and better suited to our slender finances than the 
 dignity of our library, soon dispelled one evil, and ren- 
 
224 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 dered it accessible and comfortable to the studions at 
 the same time ; and the bindings were all roughly, but 
 substantially, repaired. The restoration of the noble 
 model, the favorite scheme of Sir Christopher Wren 
 now, alas ! a ruin, after one hundred and forty years of 
 neglect was no less in his constant contemplation ; but 
 our funds were insufficient. The successful result of a 
 singular dispute as to the will of Dr. Clarke, in 1675, 
 which had been brought before the Chapter by our re 
 spected Chapter clerk, Mr. Hodgson, dining Mr. Syd 
 ney Smith s administration, caused a great addition to 
 the fabric fund, which had before been insufficient for 
 its purposes, and effected an increase which it is hoped 
 will secure the cathedral from dilapidation. 
 
 " A question of law was well suited to Mr. Smith s 
 acumen and vigor, and he very materially assisted, dur 
 ing the progress of a suit in Chancery, instituted for 
 the purpose of establishing the will, to its being brought 
 to a speedy and satisfactory conclusion, to the lasting 
 benefit of the cathedral. 
 
 " These are some of the efficient labors of our valued 
 friend within my own professional knowledge, and they 
 might be greatly increased by that of my colleagues in 
 office at St. Paul s ; in proof of which, I am permitted 
 by Mr. Hodgson, who loved and honored him, to quote 
 a constant saying of his, That Mr. Sydney Smith was 
 one of the most strictly honest men he ever met in busi 
 ness. Thus established in the respect and friendship, 
 I may truly say, of all of us, you will conceive the re 
 gret with which I received his announcement, by a note, 
 some years before his lamented departure, that I should 
 hear with pleasure, after so much trouble, that being- in 
 the expectation of his first paralytic, he was about to 
 give up his superintendence of my department to abler 
 hands. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 225 
 
 "I have great pleasure, dear madam, in offering you 
 these few anecdotes, in testimony of a beloved and 
 honored memory, however humble and insufficiently ex 
 pressed. To contribute, in any truthful aud impartial 
 way, to the just appreciation of an honest and illustrious 
 character, is one of the most delightful duties we can be 
 called upon to perform ; and surely these traits of con 
 science and integrity, of which I have been the witness 
 only, in the fastidious, troublesome, and inconspicuous 
 duties of the business transactions of fabric accounts and 
 repairs, may, in this sense, well deserve the record to 
 which you have so earnestly invited me. And I have 
 the honor to be, dear madam, your most respectful friend 
 and servant, 
 
 "C. E. COCKERELL." 
 
 The following, from his old friend, the Dean of St. 
 Paul s, is so valuable that I can not resist inserting it : 
 
 "No man, I should say, went on improving to so 
 late a period of his life, both in acuteness of thought 
 
 and felicity of expression Indeed the business 
 
 in which I am at present engaged brings at every turn 
 my old friend before me. I find traces of him in every 
 particular of Chapter affairs ; and on every occasion 
 where his hand appears, I find stronger reason for re 
 specting his sound judgment, knowledge of business, 
 and activity of mind ; above all, the perfect fidelity of 
 of his stewardship. In his care of his own interests as 
 member of the Chapter, there was ever the most honest 
 (rarely, if I may not say singularly honest) regard for 
 the interests of the Chapter and the Church. His man 
 agement of the affairs of St. Paul s (for at one time he 
 seems to have been the manager) only commenced too 
 late, and terminated too soon." 
 
 In the year 1837 he made a short tour into Holland, 
 K* 
 
226 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 with my mother. He always lamented that the power 
 of traveling had been denied him till his body had be 
 come almost unequal to the fatigue of doing so. He 
 was ever most eager to see and to hear ; but with the 
 same rapidity that characterized his thoughts, he only 
 liked first impressions, and never dwelt ten minutes to 
 gether on the same scene or picture ; declared he had 
 mastered the Louvre in a quarter of an hour, and could 
 judge of Talma s powers in ten minutes.* 
 
 On his return, by Brussels, he received much kind 
 ness and attention from his friend Mr. Van de Weyer, 
 who was then staying there, and made acquaintance 
 with Madame Yan de Weyer, his mother, with whom 
 he was excessively struck, both from her talent and her 
 vigor of character. He had, while here, the honor of an 
 interview with King Leopold, who afterward sent him an 
 invitation to dine with him at his palace at Laeken, and 
 was kind enough to send his carriage to Brussels to take 
 him there and bring him back. He felt this unexpect 
 ed honor and attention from the sovereign of a foreign 
 country as he ought. But am I wrong in believing that 
 such honors do more honor even to the giver than the 
 receiver ? for are they not a pledge to the people that 
 their sovereign prizes talents and honesty wherever they 
 are found, and whether they have been employed, as 
 my father says, "in protecting the just rights of kings 
 or restraining their unlawful ambition ?" 
 
 He says, in a letter from Brussels, " Holland is dear, 
 dirty, ugly. I was much struck with the commercial 
 grandeur of Amsterdam. You must excuse me for 
 thinking the English to be the greatest and wisest na 
 tion that ever existed in the world ; we are excelled 
 
 * It was this love of change that made him often write and speak 
 of Combe Florey as an earthly paradise ; and again, after some weeks, 
 describe it as un tonibeau. Both were genuine feelings at the moment. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 227 
 
 however in many tilings in buildings, cooking, "baking, 
 and in good manners. In setting out we went by Dun 
 kirk, over a most atrocious country. With Dunkirk I 
 was agreeably surprised ; I found an excellent inn, good 
 shops, and noble church . and tower, and altogether a 
 handsome city. At Ypres I was delighted with the 
 Hotel de Ville, one of the most magnificent Gothic 
 buildings I ever saw. At Bruges the hall and tower 
 are quite surprising, as is the town-house here. The 
 Flemings are hideously ugly ; so is their country ; the 
 inns arc all very good. All their great towns are melan 
 choly and under-peopled. 
 
 " I dined yesterday with Sir Hamilton Seymour. Yan 
 de Weyer has been extremely kind and hospitable to 
 us, and his old mother is an excellent person. I am to 
 be presented to the King to-day." 
 
 In the autumn he came again for his residence at St. 
 Paul s, and the eagerness to obtain his society seemed 
 to increase with his years. He used, during his stay in 
 town, to give an evening party once a week. These 
 parties were always popular, though; from the numbers 
 now assembled at them, they had not the charm of the 
 little select suppers of his youth. 
 
 One evening, at his house, a few friends had come in 
 to tea; among others, Lord Jeffrey, Dr. Holland, and 
 his sister. Some one spoke of Talleyrand. " Oh," said 
 Sydney, "Lady Holland labored incessantly to convince 
 me that Talleyrand was agreeable, and was very angry 
 because his arrival was usually a signal for my depart 
 ure ; but, in the first place, he never spoke at all till 
 he had not only devoured but digested his dinner, and 
 as this was a slow process with him, it did not occur 
 till every body else was asleep, or ought to have been 
 so ; and when he did speak he was so inarticulate I 
 never could understand a word he said." "It was 
 
228 MEMOIR OF THE EEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 otherwise with me," said Dr. Holland; "I never found 
 much difficulty in following him." " Did not you? why 
 it was an abuse of terms to call it talking at all ; for he 
 had no teeth, and, I believe, no roof to his mouth no 
 uvula no larynx no trachea no epiglottis no any 
 thing. It was not talking, it was gargling ; and that, 
 by-the-by, now I think of it, must be the very reason 
 why Holland understood him so much better than I 
 did," turning suddenly round on him with his merry 
 laugh. 
 
 " Yet nobody s wit was of so high an order as Talley 
 rand s when it did come, or has so well stood the test 
 of time. You remember when his friend Montrond* 
 was taken ill, and exclaimed, Mon ami, je sens les 
 tourmens de 1 enfer. Qnoi! deja? was his reply. 
 And when he sat at dinner between Madame de Stael 
 and Madame Recamier, the celebrated beauty, Madame 
 de Stael, whose beauties were certainly not those of the 
 person, jealous of his attentions to her rival, insisted 
 upon knowing which he would save if they were both 
 drowning. After seeking in vain to evade her, he at 
 last turned toward her and said, with his usual shrug, 
 Ah, madame, vous savez nagerS And when ex 
 claimed, Me voila entre 1 esprit et la beaute, he an 
 swered, Oui, et sans posseder ni Tun ni 1 autre. And 
 of Madame - , Oui, elle est belle, tres-belle ; mais 
 pour la toilette, cela commence trop tard, et finit trop 
 tot. Of Lord - - he said, C est la bienveillance 
 meme, mais la bienveillance la plus perturbative que 
 j ai jamais comui. To a friend of mine he said on one 
 occasion, Miladi, voulez-vous me preter ce livre? Oui, 
 mais vous me le rendrez ? Oui. Parole d honneur ? 
 
 * I find that Talleyrand used to tell this story as having passed be 
 tween Cardinal De la Iloche-Guyon, a celebrated epicure, and his con 
 fessor. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 229 
 
 Oui. Vous en etes surf Oui, oui, miladi ; mais, 
 pour vous Ic rendre, il faut absolument d abord me le 
 preter. 
 
 "What a talker that Frenchman Buchon is ! Macaulay 
 is a Trappist compared to him. 
 
 "I was, many years ago, talking in Talleyrand s 
 presence to my "brother Bobus, who was just then be 
 ginning his career at the Bar, and said, Mind, Bobus, 
 when you are Chancellor I shall expect one of your best 
 livings. Oui, moil ami, said Bobus, mais d abord jc 
 vous ferai commettre toutes les bassesses dont les pre- 
 tres sont capables. On which Talleyrand, throwing up 
 his hands and eyes, exclaimed, with a shrug, Mais 
 quelle latitude enorme ! 
 
 The conversation then turned on society in London, 
 and its effect upon character. "I always tell Lady 
 P she has preserved the two impossible concom 
 itants of a London life a good complexion and a good 
 heart. Most London dinners evaporate in whispers to 
 one s next-door neighbor. I make it a rule never to 
 speak a word to mine, but fire across the table ; though 
 I broke it once when I heard a lady who sat next me, 
 in a low, sweet voice, say, No gravy, sir. I had never 
 seen her before, but I turned suddenly round and said, 
 Madam, I have been looking for a person who disliked 
 gravy all my life ; let us swear eternal friendship. She 
 looked astonished, but took the oath, and what is better, 
 kept it. You laugh, Miss ; but what more usual 
 foundation for friendship, let me ask, than similarity of 
 tastes ?" 
 
 Talking of tastes, my father quite shared in his friend 
 Mrs. Opic s for light, heat, and fragrance. The first 
 ^ was almost a passion with him, which he indulged by 
 means of little tin lamps with mutton-fat, in the days 
 of his poverty these, when a little richer, to our great 
 
230 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 joy, were exchanged for oil-lamps and lastly, in the 
 days of his wealth, for a profusion of wax-lights. The 
 heat of his patent fire-places has been mentioned, and his 
 delight in flowers was extreme. He often went into the 
 garden the moment he was dressed, and returned with 
 his hands full of roses, to place them on the plates at 
 breakfast. He liked to see the young people staying in 
 his house dressed with natural flowers, and encouraged 
 us to invent all sorts of flowery ornaments, such as ear 
 rings and necklaces, some of which were really very 
 graceful. 
 
 The following are some fragments of my father s con 
 versation in London: 
 
 Some one asked if the Bishop of - was going to 
 marry. "Perhaps he may," said my father; "yet 
 how can a bishop marry ? How can he flirt ? The 
 most he can say is, I will see you in the vestry after 
 service. " 
 
 " Oh, don t read those twelve volumes till they are 
 made into a consomme of two. Lord Dudley did still 
 better, lie waited till they blew over." 
 
 Talking of tithes : " It is an atrocious way of paying 
 the clergy. The custom of tithe in kind will seem in 
 credible to our posterity ; no one will believe in the 
 ramiferous priest officiating in the cornfield." 
 
 " Our friend - - makes all the country smell like 
 Piccadilly." 
 
 An argument arose, in which my father observed how 
 many of the most eminent men of the world had been 
 diminutive in person, and after naming several among 
 the ancients, he added, "Why, look there, at Jeffrey; 
 and there is my little friend - , who has not body 
 enough to cover his mind decently with ; his intellect is 
 improperly exposed." 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 231 
 
 "Oh, doirt mind the caprices of fashionable women; 
 they are as gross as poodles fed on milk and muffins." 
 
 " Fox wrote drop by drop." 
 
 " Simplicity is a great object in a great book ; it is 
 not wanted in a short one." 
 
 " You will generally see in human life the round man 
 and the angular man planted in the wrong hole ; but 
 the Bishop of - , being a round man, has fallen into 
 a triangular hole, and is far better off than many trian 
 gular men who have fallen into round holes." 
 
 "The great charm of Sheridan s speaking was his 
 multifariousness of style." 
 
 "When I took my Yorkshire servants into Somer 
 setshire, I found that they thought making a drink out 
 of apples was a tempting of Providence, who had in 
 tended barley to be the only natural material of intoxi 
 cation." 
 
 "We naturally lose illusions as we get older, like 
 teeth, but there is no Cartwright to fit a new set into 
 our understandings. I have, alas ! only one illusion 
 left, and that is the Archbishop of Canterbury." 
 
 Speaking of the long debates in the House: "Why 
 will not people remember the Flood ? If they had 
 lived before it, with the patriarchs, they might have 
 talked any stuff they pleased ; but do let them remem 
 ber how little time they have under this new order of 
 things." 
 
 " The charm of London is that you are never glad or 
 sorry for ten minutes together : in the country you are 
 the one and the other for weeks." 
 
 " There is a New Zealand attorney arrived in Lon 
 don, with 6s. Scl. tattooed all over his face." 
 
 " Yes, he has spent all his life in letting down empty 
 buckets into empty wells ; and he is frittering away his 
 ago, in trying to draw them up again." 
 
232 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 "If you masthead a sailor for not doing Iris duty, 
 wliy should you not weathercock a parishioner for re 
 fusing to pay tithes ?" 
 
 " How is - - ?" " He is not very well." " Why, 
 what is the matter?" "Oh, don t you know he has 
 produced a couplet ? "When our friend is delivered of 
 a couplet, with infinite labor and pain, he takes to his 
 "bed, has straw laid down, the knocker tied up, expects 
 his friends to call and make inquiries, and the answer 
 at the door invariably is, Mr. - and his little coup 
 let are as well as can be expected. When he produces 
 an Alexandrine he keeps his bed a day longer." 
 
 "You will find a Scotchman always says what is 
 undermost. I, on the contrary, say every thing that 
 comes uppermost, and have all sorts of bad jokes put 
 upon me in consequence. An American published a 
 book, and declared I had told him there were more mad 
 Quakers in lunatic asylums than any other sect quite 
 an invention on his part. Another time Prince P. M. 
 published my conversations ; so when I next met him, 
 I inquired whether this was to be a printed or manu 
 script one, as I should talk accordingly. He did his 
 best to blush." 
 
 One evening, when drinking tea with Mrs. Austin, 
 the servant entering into a crowded room, with a boil 
 ing tea-kettle in his hand, it seemed doubtful, nay, im 
 possible, he should make his way among the numerous 
 groups ; but, on the first approach of the steaming kettle, 
 the crowd receded on all sides, my father among the 
 rest, though carefully watching the progress of the lad 
 to the table: "I declare," said he (addressing Mrs. Aus 
 tin), " a man who wishes to make his way in life could 
 do nothing better than go through the world with a boil 
 ing tea-kettle in his hand." 
 
 "Never neglect your fire-places: I have paid great 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 283 
 
 attention to mine, and could burn you all out in a mo 
 ment. Much of the cheerfulness of life depends upon 
 it. Who could be miserable with that fire? What 
 makes a fire so pleasant is, I think, that it is a live 
 thing in a dead room." 
 
 " Such is the horror the French have of our cuisine, 
 that at the dinner given in honor of Guizot at the 
 Athenaeum, they say his cook was heard to exclaim, 
 Ah, mon pauvre maitre! je no le reverrai plus." 1 
 
 "Lord AVenlock told me that his ground-rent cost 
 him five pounds a foot; that is about the price of a Lon 
 don footman six foot high thirty guineas per annum. 
 
 " I believe the parallelogram between Oxford Street, 
 Piccadilly, Regent Street, and Hyde Park, incloses 
 more intelligence and human ability, to say nothing of 
 wealth and beauty, than the world has ever collected in 
 such a space before." 
 
 "When I praised the author of the New Poor Law 
 the other day, three gentlemen at table took it to them 
 selves, and blushed up to the eyes." 
 
 "Yes! you find people ready enough to do the Sa 
 maritan, without the oil and twopence." 
 
 "It is a great proof of shyness to crumble bread at 
 dinner. Oh, I see you are afraid of me (turning to a 
 young lady who sat by him), you crumble your bread. 7 
 I do it when I sit by the Bishop of London, and with 
 both hands when I sit by the Archbishop." 
 
 Addressing Rogers: "My dear R., if we were both 
 in America, we should be tarred and feathered; and, 
 lovely as we are by nature, I should be an ostrich and 
 you an emu." 
 
 "I once saw a dressed statue of Venus in a serious 
 house the Venus Millinaria." 
 
 "Ah, you flavor every thing; you arc the vanille of 
 society." 
 
234 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 "I think it was Luttrell wlio used to say s 
 face always reminded him of boiled mutton and near 
 relations. " 
 
 " I fully intended going to America ; but my parish 
 ioners held a meeting, and came to a resolution that 
 they could not trust me with the canvas-back ducks ; 
 and I felt they were right, so gave up the project." 
 
 " Of course, if I ever did go to a fancy ball at all, I 
 should go as a Dissenter." 
 
 " Some people seem to be born out of their proper 
 century. should have lived in the Italian Repub 
 
 lics, and - under Charles II." 
 
 "My living in Yorkshire was so far out of the way, 
 that it was actually twelve miles from a lemon." 
 
 "Don t you know, as the French say, there are three 
 sexes men, women, and clergymen ?" 
 
 "One of my great objections to the country is, that 
 you get your letters but once a day ; here they come 
 every five minutes." 
 
 On some one offering him oat-cake, "No, I can t ent 
 oat-cake, it is too rich for me." 
 
 " Harrowgate seemed to me the most heaven-forgotten 
 country under the sun. When I saw it, there were only 
 nine mangy fir-trees there ; and even they all leant away 
 from it." 
 
 Dining at Mr. Grenville s, he as usual arrived before 
 the rest of the party ; some ladies were shortly after 
 announced ; as Mr. Grenville, with his graceful dignity 
 and cheerfulness, went forward to receive them, my 
 father, looking after him, exclaimed to Mr. Panizzi, 
 " There, that is the man from whom we all ought to 
 learn how to grow old!" The conversation at table 
 turned on a subject lately treated of in Sir Charles 
 Ly ell s book, the phenomena which the earth might 
 present to the geologists of some future period; "Let 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 235 
 
 us imagine," said my father, "an excavation on the site 
 of St. Paul s. Fancy a lecture, by the Owen of some 
 future age, on the thigh-Lone of a Minor Canon, or the 
 tooth of a Dean the form, qualities, the knowledge, 
 tastes, propensities, he would discover from them." 
 And off he went, his imagination playing on this idea 
 in every possible way. 
 
 Some one spoke of the state of financial embarrass 
 ment of the London University at that time. "Yes, it 
 is so great, that I understand they have already seized 
 011 the air-pump, the exhausted receiver, and galvanic 
 batteries ; and that bailiffs have been seen chasing the 
 Professor of Modern History round the quadrangle." 
 
 Conversing in the evening, with a small circle, round 
 Miss Berry s tea-table (who, though far advanced to 
 ward the fourscore years and ten which she afterward 
 attained, was still remarkable for her vigor of mind and 
 beauty of person), my father observed the entrance of a 
 no less remarkable person, both for talents and years, 
 dressed in a beautiful crimson velvet gown ; he started 
 up to meet his fine old friend, exclaiming, "Exactly 
 the color of my preaching cushion!" and leading her 
 forward to the light, he pretended to be lost in admira 
 tion, saying, "I really can hardly keep my hands off 
 you; I shall be preaching on you, I fear," etc., and 
 played with the subject to the infinite amusement of his 
 old friend and the little circle assembled round her. 
 
 " Playfair was certainly the most delightful philomath 
 I ever knew." 
 
 "Have you heard of jSfiebuhr s discoveries? All 
 Roman, history reversed ; Tarquin turning out an ex 
 cellent family man, and Lucrctia a very doubtful char 
 acter, whom Lady - - would not have visited." 
 
 The ladies having left the room, at a dinner at Sir 
 (I. Philips s, the conversation turned on the black pop- 
 
236 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 illation of America. My father, turning to an eminent 
 American jurist, who was here some years ago, "Pray, 
 Mr. - , tell us why you can t live on better terms 
 with your "black population." "Why, to tell you the 
 truth, Mr. Smith, they smell so abominably that we 
 can t bear them near us." "Possibly not," said my 
 father, "but men must not be led by the nose in that 
 way : if you don t like asking them to dinner, it is 
 surely no reason why you should not make citizens of 
 them. 
 
 Et si non alium late jactaret odorem. 
 Civis erat. " * 
 
 " Don t talk to me of not being able to cough a speak 
 er down: try the hooping-cough." 
 
 Mr. Monckton Milnes was talking to Alderman - , 
 when the latter turned away: "You were speaking," 
 said Sydney, "to the Lord Mayor elect. I myself felt 
 in his presence like the Roman whom Pyrrhus tried to 
 frighten with an elephant, and remained calm." 
 
 "When so showy a woman as Mrs. - appears at 
 a place, though there is no garrison within twelve mile?, 
 the horizon is immediately clouded with majors." 
 
 " To take Macaulay out of literature and society, and 
 put him in the House of Commons, is like taking the 
 chief physician out of London during a pestilence." 
 
 "How bored children are with the wisdom of Te- 
 lemachus ! they can t think why Calypso is so fond of 
 him." 
 
 Some one observing the wonderful improvement in 
 - since his success, "Ah!" he said, "praise is the 
 best diet for us, after all." 
 
 One day, Mr. Eogers took Mr. Moore and my father 
 home in his carriage, from a breakfast ; and insisted on 
 
 * Virgil, Georgics ii. 1.32. TMurus in the original. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 237 
 
 showing them, by the way, Dryden s house, in some ob 
 scure street. It was very wet ; the house looked very 
 much like other old houses ; and having thin shoes on, 
 they both remonstrated ; but in vain. Rogers got out, 
 and stood expecting them. " Oh ! you see why Hogers 
 don t mind getting out," exclaimed my father, laughing 
 and leaning out of the carriage, " he has got goloshes 
 on but, Rogers, lend us each a golosh, and we will 
 then stand on one leg, and admire as long as you 
 please." 
 
 "When Prcscott comes to England, a Caspian Sea 
 of soup awaits him." 
 
 "An American said to me, "You are so funny, Mr. 
 Smith ! do you know, you remind me of our great joker, 
 Dr. Chambeiiaquc. I am much honored, I replied, 
 but I was not aware you had such a functionary in the 
 United States. " 
 
 At Mr. Romilly s there arose a discussion on the In 
 ferno of Dante, and the tortures he had invented. "He 
 may be a great poet," said my father, " but as to inven 
 tion, I consider him a mere bungler no imagination, no 
 knowledge of the human heart. If I had taken it in 
 hand, I would show you what torture really was ; for 
 instance (turning, merrily, to his old friend Mrs. Marcet), 
 you should be doomed to listen, for a thousand years, to 
 conversations between Caroline and Emily, where Caro 
 line should always give wrong explanations in chemis 
 try, and Emily in the end be unable to distinguish an 
 acid from an alkali. You, Macaulay, let me consider ? 
 oh, you should be dumb. False dates and facts of the 
 reign of Queen Anne should forever be shouted in your 
 ears ; all liberal and honest opinions should be ridiculed 
 in your presence ; and you should not be able to say a 
 single word during that period in their defense." " And 
 what would you condemn rr. to, Mr. Sydney ?" said a 
 
238 MEMOIR OF THE KEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 young mother. "Why, you should forever see those 
 three sweet little girls of yours on the point of falling 
 down stairs, and never Ibe able to save them. There, 
 what tortures are there in Dante equal to these ?" 
 
 "Daniel Webster struck me much like a steam-engine 
 in trowsers." 
 
 " When I began to thump the cushion of my pulpit, 
 on first coming to Foston, as is my wont when I preach, 
 the accumulated dust of a hundred and fifty years made 
 such a cloud, that for some minutes I lost sight of my 
 congregation." 
 
 "Nothing amuses me more than to observe the utter 
 want of perception of a joke in some minds. Mrs. 
 Jackson called the other day, and spoke of the oppress 
 ive heat of last week. Heat, ma am ! I said ; it was 
 so dreadful here, that I found there was nothing left for 
 it but to take off my flesh and sit in my bones. Take 
 off your flesh and sit in your bones, sir ! Oh, Mr. Smith ! 
 how could you do that ? she exclaimed, with the utmost 
 gravity. Nothing more easy, ma am ; come and see 
 next time. But she ordered her carriage, and evidently 
 thought it a very unorthodox proceeding." 
 
 " Miss , too, the other day, walking round the 
 grounds at Combe Florcy, exclaimed, Oh, why do you 
 chain up that fine Newfoundland dog, Mr. Smith T 
 Because it has a passion for breakfasting on parish 
 boys. Parish boys! she exclaimed, docs he really 
 cat boys, Mr. Smith? Yes, he devours them, but 
 tons and all. Her face of horror made me die of laugh 
 ing." 
 
 A most curious instance of this slow perception of hu 
 mor occurred once in Brook Street, where a gentleman 
 of some rank dined at our house, with a large party, of 
 which my father and Mr. Luttrell formed a portion. My 
 father was in high spirits, and in one of his happiest 
 
MEMOIK OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 239 
 
 veins ; and much brilliant conversation passed around 
 from Mr. Luttrell and others. Mr. - - sat through it 
 all with the utmost gravity. This seemed only to stim 
 ulate my father, who became more and more brilliant, 
 till the table was in a perfect roar of laughter. The 
 servants even, forgetting all decorum, were obliged to 
 turn away to conceal their mirth. Mr. - - alone sat 
 unmoved, and gazing with solemn wonder at the scene 
 around. Luttrell was so struck by this that he said, 
 " Mr. - - was a natural phenomenon whom he must 
 observe ;" so letting the side-dishes pass by, he took 
 out his eye-glass to watch. At last my father accident 
 ally struck out a subject (which, for social reasons, I 
 must not give, though it was inimitable), which touched 
 the right spring, and he could resist no longer, but act 
 ually laughed out. Luttrell shouted victory in my ear ; 
 and resumed his wonted attention to the dinner, saying, 
 he had never witnessed so curious a scene. 
 
 The conversation turned upon pictures. "I like 
 pictures, without knowing any thing about them ; but 
 I hate coxcombry in the fine arts, as well as in any 
 thing else. I got into dreadful disgrace with Sir G. B. 
 once, who, standing before a picture at Bowood, ex 
 claimed, turning to me, Immense breadth of light and 
 shade! I innocently said, Yes; about an inch and a 
 half. He gave me a look that ought to have killed me." 
 
 At a large dinner-party my father, or some one else, 
 announced the death of Mr. Dugald Stewart ; one whose 
 name ever brings with it feelings of respect for his tal 
 ents and high character. The news was received with 
 so much levity by a lady of rank, who sat by him, that 
 he turned round and said, " Madam, when we are told 
 
 of the death of so creat a man as Mr. Dugald Stewart, 
 o o 
 
 it is usual, in civilized society, to look grave for at least 
 the space of five seconds." 
 
240 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 "They do nothing in Ireland as they would elsewhere. 
 When the Dublin mail was stopped and robbed, my 
 brother declares that a sweet female voice was heard be 
 hind the hedge, exclaiming, Shoot the gintleman, then, 
 Patrick dear! " 
 
 We were all assembled to look at a turtle that had 
 been sent to the house of a friend, when a child of the 
 party stooped down and began eagerly stroking the shell 
 of the turtle. " Why are you doing that, B ?" said 
 my father. " Oh, to please the turtle." ; < Why, child, 
 you might as well stroke the dome of St. Paul s, to 
 please the Dean and Chapter." 
 
 Some one naming - - as not very orthodox, "Ac 
 cuse a man of being a Socinian, and it is all over with 
 him ; for the country gentlemen all think it has some 
 thing to do with poaching." 
 
 " I hate bare walls ; so I cover mine, you see, with 
 pictures. The public, it must be owned, treat them 
 with great contempt ; and even Hibbert, who has been 
 brought up in the midst of fine pictures, and might know 
 better, never will admire them. But look at that sea- 
 piece, now ; what would you desire more ? It is true, 
 the moon in the corner was rather dingy when I first 
 bought it ; so I had a new moon put in for half-a-crown, 
 and now I consider it perfect." 
 
 Of my father s conversation in London, where of 
 course such powers were most excited and most brill 
 iant (except in these slight specimens, principally fur 
 nished by the kindness of a friend), I have hardly at 
 tempted to give any idea ; partly because the docu 
 ments that would best have enabled me to do so (his 
 daily letters, when absent, to my mother) have not 
 been preserved partly because of such journals so little 
 can and ought to be published, that they serve but to 
 remind one of Sancho Panza s feast, where a splendid 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 241 
 
 list of names promises every thing, and produces no 
 thing and last, though not least, as his friend Lord 
 John Russell observes, because it is hardly possible to 
 describe his manner, or convey the slightest idea of what 
 his powers really were, in their most brilliant moments, 
 to those who have never witnessed them. Lord John 
 adds and all who knew my father will agree with his 
 conclusion that " in his peculiar style he has never 
 been equaled, and perhaps will not be surpassed." I 
 observe, with pleasure, that every sketch which has ap 
 peared of him has laid great stress upon the wonderful 
 degree of truth, wisdom, and bold illustration, that was 
 often concealed in these ludicrous pictures and apparent 
 nonsense ; and which not only made them valuable, but 
 prevented their ever palling, or degenerating into mere 
 buffoonery. 
 
 About this period began his contest with the Eccle 
 siastical Commission, which lasted nearly four years, 
 and was carried on principally in a series of letters ad 
 dressed to Archdeacon Singleton. In these letters, after 
 touching slightly upon the injustice of forming such a 
 Commission without any one to protect the interests 
 of the inferior clergy on the permanent and arbitrary 
 powers granted to the Commission, under a Whig min 
 istry on the inclination the Commission evinced to 
 appropriate the patronage, at the same time that they 
 were claiming the honors of martyrdom (d propos to 
 which he introduced the episode of the old chronicle 
 of Dort) touching on these, together with many other 
 clauses very oppressive to the clergy (which were after 
 ward given up), he proceeds to enforce two princi 
 ples. First, that if the laity desire an Establishment 
 into which birth, wealth, station, talent, education, and 
 character should flow ; and bestow on it a revenue 
 which, if equally divided, would hardly piano the clergy 
 Voi T T 
 
242 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 on a footing with the upper servants of a nobleman s 
 family, and would not, according to the proposed plan 
 of spoliation, be an addition of more than 5. 12s. 6%cl. 
 per man payment by hope, or inequality of division, 
 were the only means of obtaining the desired end ; and 
 the prizes in the lottery must be left. Or, if the in 
 equality in some instances was too great, ,the remedy 
 should be applied where the greatest evil existed. Sec 
 ondly, that the Commission, by attacking vested in 
 terests during the lifetime of the incumbents, were 
 not only guilty of great present injustice, but were ad 
 mitting a most dangerous precedent, and overturn 
 ing a principle that all governments had hitherto re 
 spected. 
 
 These letters, which by many have been considered 
 as evincing more talent than almost any thing he has 
 written, produced considerable effect at the time ; and 
 the many private letters I possess, as well as the tes 
 timony of the public press, show that public opinion 
 was strongly with him that these measures were 
 changes, but not reforms that they contributed no 
 thing to the public good and that they diminished no 
 thing of the public hostility to the Church. How it term 
 inated is well known. He concludes the controversy 
 with this tribute to his old friend and opponent, Lord 
 John Russell : " You know very well, my dear Lord, 
 in criticising parts of your Church reform, I mean no 
 thing unkind or unfriendly to you personally. I have 
 known you for thirty years ; and I do not believe that 
 in his country, full of good men, there is one more hon 
 est, upright, and intrepid than yourself." My father, 
 I find, states that he has the most honorable testi 
 mony from Lord John himself, that in conducting this 
 dispute he never exceeded the bounds of free discus 
 sion : and that he was influenced by no motive that did 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 243 
 
 not affect equally the whole body to which he belonged, 
 and whose interests he felt bound to defend.* 
 
 I am aware that these letters have afforded plausible 
 ground for the insinuations that were made by some 
 few, that my father, a "Whig all his life, deserted his 
 party, and attacked his friends ; and, a reformer, op 
 posed reform the moment it affected his own interest. 
 These are grave charges, but are best met by a few 
 facts. He attacked the Whigs when they were in 
 power, and had every thing to bestow ; when they were 
 poor and powerless, he was ever found fighting at their 
 side. This does not look mean and base. He opposed 
 not reform, but this reform ; and this reform he had 
 opposed upon the same principle, twenty years before, 
 in the Edinburgh. Review, under a Tory administration, 
 when in his wildest dreams ho had never hoped to be 
 a Canon of St. Paul s, t He did not, therefore, change 
 his opinions with his position. It did not affect his 
 personal interests, as he wanted the patronage neither 
 for himself nor his family ; and the noble use he made 
 of valuable patronage when it did come into his hands, 
 must sufficiently exonerate him from the suspicion of 
 acting from interested motives in the eyes of any can 
 did man. 
 
 The following petition from the Rev. Sydney Smith, 
 
 * I might add to this statement, that I have very lately received 
 from Lord John Russell the most generous praise of these very letters 
 (always excepting a well-known passage, which he considered unjust) ; 
 and Lord John s last act has indeed so proved its injustice, that I feel 
 sure my father, were he alive, would be the first to retract it, and to 
 do honor to the sacrifice that has been made by his friend. 
 
 f There is also among his papers an amusing fragment on the sub 
 ject of tithes, written about the period that question was being dis 
 cussed, which, as it is but a fragment, is hardly worth inserting. But 
 in this again he speaks strongly of the necessity of inequality of pay 
 ment, in order to support an Establishment so ill provided for as the 
 Church of England ; showing still further how consistent he was from 
 first to last in his opinions on this subject as well as others. 
 
244 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 was presented and read to the House of Lords by the 
 Hon. the Lord Bishop of Rochester, July, 1840. 
 
 " To the Right Honorable the Lords Spiritual and 
 Temporal in Parliament assembled. 
 
 "The humlble petition of the Kev. Sydney Smith, 
 Canon Residentiary of St. Paul s, humbly showeth 
 That your petitioner has bestowed considerable thought 
 and attention upon the subject of the Ecclesiastical 
 Duties and Revenues Bill, and prays that the same 
 may not pass into a law ; for the following reasons : 
 
 " The Bill applies to the spiritual destitution of the 
 Church, that which was left for the ornaments and re 
 wards of the Church ; and in this way gets rid of the 
 burden of supporting the clergy, by tampering with the 
 sacred laws of property ; making, at the same time, the 
 multitude believe that they are reforming abuses, while 
 they are only evading duties and weakening principles. 
 
 " By lessening the rewards of the Church, it prevents 
 men of capital from entering into it; and makes the 
 whole wealth of those who are engaged in the service 
 of the Church less, instead of increasing it. 
 
 " The whole mass of property which the Bill proposes 
 to confiscate, will make the poor clergy a very little 
 less poor, while its confiscation destroys the powerful 
 stimulus of hope, at the beginning of an ecclesiastical 
 life. Two-thirds of the present deans and prebendaries 
 have been curates and small vicars : they would, at the 
 lowest period of their fortunes, have refused to barter 
 their hope of future competence, for the addition of a 
 few pounds to their income ; and this is most unques 
 tionably the state of feeling among the lower clergy at 
 the present moment. 
 
 "The whole of the Bill supposes that deans and 
 chapters have made a worse use of their patronage than 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 245 
 
 bishops, and tliis is directly contrary to truth. But 
 what is true of this Bill is, that one order in the Church 
 who have no votes in Parliament, have been completely 
 sacrificed to those who have votes that deans and pre 
 bendaries, carefully excluded from the Commission, have 
 been condemned to confiscation and that the Prelate 
 Commissioners have not sacrificed one shilling of the 
 aggregate income of the bishops to those spiritual desti 
 tutions of the Church, which they feel so strongly, but 
 relieve with property not their own. 
 
 " The Bill destroys many ecclesiastical offices, which, 
 with a little care and thought, might have been made 
 eminently useful to literature ; to the present plans of 
 national education ; to the care of dioceses in the de 
 cay and old age of bishops, and to the general support 
 of episcopal authority ; or, what is of more importance 
 (in the present unrepresented and unsupported state of 
 the parochial clergy), to the checks upon episcopal au 
 thority. 
 
 " This Bill habituates the Legislature to the easy 
 and inviting power of tampering with the property of 
 the Church. It is utterly impossible to believe that 
 this will be the last and the worst act of that nature. 
 
 "The law, as it now stands, enables dignified cler 
 gymen to bestow their patronage on their children and 
 relations, who may be deserving of it. Under this sanc 
 tion they have given to their sons very expensive edu 
 cations at the Universities. The present Bill destroys 
 these expectations ; sets at nought vested rights ; and, 
 instead of applying this provision to future members of 
 chapters, cuts off from their rights the ancient members 
 of those bodies, who have laid out their whole plan of 
 life upon the faith of laws unimpugned and unrcpcaled 
 for centuries ; and this appears to your Petitioner to be 
 a gross act of spoliation and injustice, and contrary to 
 
246 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 the express provisions and arrangements of the Com 
 missioners themselves. 
 
 "To give to every clergyman who has gone through 
 the expense of an English University, and who is mar 
 ried and settled in the country, the income which they 
 ought in decency and in justice to receive, would re 
 quire, not only the confiscation of all the cathedral and 
 episcopal property, but some millions of money in addi 
 tion. A church provided for as ours now is, can obtain 
 a well-educated and respectable clergy only by those 
 hopes which are excited by the unequal division and 
 lottery of preferment. This is the real cause which 
 has brought capital and respectability into the English 
 Church, and peopled it with the well-educated sons of 
 gentlemen an object of the greatest importance in a 
 rich country like England. Nothing would so rapidly 
 and certainly insure the degradation of the Church of 
 England, as the equal division of all its revenues among 
 all its members. 
 
 "For these reasons, your Petitioner believes the Bill 
 in question (however well intended) to be founded on 
 a very short-sighted policy, and that it will entail great 
 evils upon a Church no longer unfavorable to the civil 
 liberties of mankind as yet untainted by fanaticism 
 carried forward by the labors of a highly improved 
 clergy and now become as useful and as active as any 
 church establishment which the world has yet seen. 
 
 " This, as it seems to your Petitioner, is the last of 
 all our institutions upon which an experiment so daring 
 and so dangerous ought to be tried. For these rea 
 sons, your Petitioner humbly prays that the Ecclesias 
 tical Duties and Revenues Bill may not pass into a law. 
 
 " SYDNEY SMITH." 
 
 In the previous year, a statue having been erected 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 247 
 
 at Newcastle, in honor of Earl Grey, my father was 
 requested to write the inscription for it. He sent the 
 following ; but as it did not entirely meet the views of 
 all the subscribers, it was not adopted ; though I have 
 reason to believe it was much approved of by his family. 
 
 TO CHARLES, EARL GREY, E.G., 
 OF JIOWICK, IN NORTHUMBERLAND, 
 
 THIS MONUMENT, 
 IN A SPIRIT OP SOLEMN RESPECT 
 
 AND DEEP GRATITUDE, 
 IS ERECTED, BY MANY OF HIS FELLOW-CITIZENS. 
 
 THEY HAVE SEEN HIM THROUGH A LONG LIFE 
 DEDICATING HIS FINE TALENTS TO PROMOTE THE BEST INTERESTS 
 
 OF MANKIND, 
 
 AND, IN EVIL DAYS, WITH HIGH MORAL COURAGE 
 DEFENDING THE ALMOST EXTINGUISHED LIBERTIES OF ENGLAND! 
 
 THEY OWE TO HIM THAT MEMORABLE REFORM, 
 
 WHICH, BLENDING FREEDOM WITH LOYALTY AND ORDER, 
 
 HAS INFUSED FRESH LIFE AND ENERGY INTO ALL 
 
 OUR INSTITUTIONS; 
 
 A REFORM WHICH HE PLANNED IN HIS YOUTH, 
 AND BROUGHT TO TRIUMPHANT PERFECTION IN HIS ADVANCED AGE. 
 
 REMEMBERING THESE THINGS, 
 THEY HAVE DEEMED IT AN ACT OF SACRED JUSTICE 
 
 TO RECORD, BY A PUBLIC MONUMENT, 
 THEIR ADMIRATION OF THIS GREAT STATESMAN: 
 
 NOT WITHOUT HOPE 
 
 THAT THE YOUNG, SEEING WHAT THOSE QUALITIES ARE 
 WHICH COMMAND THE GRATITUDE OF MANKIND, 
 MAY STRIVE TO BE AS GOOD AND PURE AS HE 
 
 WHOSE IMAGE IS HERE PLACED BEFORE THEIR EYES. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 Visit to Combe Florey. Kindness to Grandchildren. Sudden Wealth. 
 Recollections of his Parishioners at Foston. Death of Lord Hol 
 land: his Portrait. Letter to Mr. Webster. Sketch of Revue des 
 Deux Mondes. Letter of Mr. Grenville. Visit from Mr. Moore, 
 and Verses. Bestows the Living of Edmonton on Mr. Tate s Son. 
 Letter to Mrs. Sydney Smith. Address of Parishioners, and An 
 swer. Letter of Mrs. Marcet. Receipt for making every day hap 
 py. Definition of Happiness. Petition to the American Congress 
 in 1843. Effects. Speech from Mr. Ticknor. Letter from Mr. 
 Wainwright. Abuse and Gifts from America. Effect of Preaching 
 in old Age. Letter of Miss Edgeworth. Correspondence with Sir 
 R. Peel. Extract from Journal with Anecdotes. 
 
 IN the summer we went again to spend some months 
 with my father at Combe Florey, which every year 
 became more beautiful under his fostering care. His 
 love of children I have before alluded to ; and particu 
 larly of his little grandchildren, whose happiness he 
 delighted to promote. He hardly ever dressed in a 
 morning without having them round him to assist him ; 
 or to play at shaving his table with his shaving-brush 
 and huge wooden bowl, which still remained, though 
 the reign of Bunch had ceased. Among these grand 
 children was an odd, clever little girl, about five years 
 old, who amused him much by her peculiarities ; one of 
 which was, that she insisted upon understanding every 
 thing she heard, and that when baffled, as she often 
 necessarily was, she took to roaring and kicking. On 
 one of these occasions, he was walking round his gar 
 den with his two arms swung behind over his black 
 crutch-stick (his usual manner of walking), and hearing 
 these sounds from his merry little favorite, he stopped 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 249 
 
 under tlie open window, and called out, " What is the 
 matter with my little girl?" " Oh," said her mother, 
 " she can not understand something about the He 
 brews. I have tried to explain it to her ; but as she 
 has lost her temper, I have told her she must wait till 
 she is a little older." He looked excessively amused 
 at the mental ambition of the five-years-old, but walked 
 off in silence. Two hours after, the mother found him 
 closeted with the little culprit in his favorite library, 
 in his large arm-chair, with the child on his knee, with 
 maps, dictionary, and books piled around him ; he ex 
 plaining and she listening with apparently equal pleas 
 ure, till the difficulty was overcome, and the child satis 
 fied. I must add, in justice to the little girl, that 
 though she has retained her love of investigation, she 
 has fortunately left off the habit of roaring and kicking 
 under mental difficulties. 
 
 The sudden death of his youngest brother Courtenay 
 about this time (whose debt of thirty pounds he had 
 paid with so much difficulty at college fifty years be 
 fore) without a will, put him in possession of the third 
 part of the very large, but to himself useless, fortune, 
 which he had accumulated in India ; and thus, as my 
 father has said, "in my grand climacteric I became un 
 expectedly a rich man." Having the means of spend 
 ing now, he spent as liberally as if he had been used to 
 wealth all his life ; for his rigid economy in poverty 
 had never the effect of making him penurious. 
 
 This summer, when traveling through Yorkshire, I 
 went with my children to see our old haunts at Foston ; 
 and it was very gratifying to find, though nearly ten 
 years had elapsed since he left them, how fresh my 
 father s memory was still in the hearts of his villagers. 
 From almost every cottage some one came out to greet 
 me, and to remind me of some saying, or some act of 
 
 L* 
 
250 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 kindness, or to show me his parting gift, or to remem 
 ber how he " doctored" them, and to lament his loss. 
 And as to old Molly Mills, who was still alive, it was 
 quite affecting to see the mixture of joy and sorrow in 
 her face, as she recalled old stories, or thought of her 
 present loss " the smile on her lip, and the tear in her 
 eye." I felt these were humble, but not the less pre 
 cious tributes to his character. 
 
 Each year now thinned the ranks of the great men 
 with whom he had begun life men not only endeared 
 to him by social intercourse, but by that deep interest 
 which a struggle for the same cause during so many 
 years usually inspires. But among these losses, none 
 ever fell more deeply and heavily on his heart than that 
 of Lord Holland. He loved him (as indeed all did who 
 had the privilege of knowing him intimately), and he 
 felt deeply his debt of gratitude to him in early life. 
 Lord Holland s last illness was, I believe, short ; and 
 on his dressing-table were found these few lines, which 
 were sent to me by his sister, Miss Fox, after his 
 death : 
 
 " Nephew of Fox, and friend of Grey 
 
 Enough my meed of fame 
 If those who deign d to observe me say 
 I injured neither name." 
 
 In a letter to Mrs. M., one of our oldest friends, he 
 says, speaking of Lord Holland s death " It is indeed 
 a great loss to me ; but I have learned to live, as a 
 soldier does in war, expecting that on any one moment 
 the best and the dearest may be killed before his eyes. 
 ... I have gout, asthma, and seven other maladies, 
 but am otherwise very well. SYDNEY SMITH." 
 
 I see among my father s papers a sketch of Lord Hol 
 land, from which I shall make some extracts, as, I 
 trust, they can only give pleasure. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 251 
 
 "A Portrait. 
 
 11 Great powers of reasoning, great quickness and in 
 genuity of proof, and a memory in the highest degree 
 retentive ; a knowledge varied and extensive, and in 
 English history and constitutional law profound. . . . 
 An invincible hatred of tyranny and oppression, the 
 most ardent love of public happiness, and attachment 
 to public rights. His conversation was lively and in 
 cessant. . . . 
 
 "As a speaker, he wanted words, which he was often 
 forced to stop for ; and he was too slow ; but he atoned 
 for these defects by sense, knowledge, simplicity, logic, 
 vehemence, and unblemished character. There never 
 existed in any human being a better heart, or one more 
 punned from all the bad passions, more abounding in 
 charity and compassion, or which seemed to be so 
 created as a refuge to the helpless and the oppressed. 
 
 * -: # * * * * * 
 
 " He was very acute in the discernment of charac 
 ter ; more so, I can not help thinking, than any public 
 man of his time whom it has fallen to my lot to ob 
 serve. He was one of the most consistent and steady 
 politicians living in any day ; in whose life, exceeding 
 sixty-five years, there was no doubt, varying, nor 
 shadow of change. It was one great, incessant, and 
 unrewarded effort to resist oppression, promote justice, 
 and restrain the abuse of power." 
 
 When Mr. Webster was Secretary of Foreign Affairs 
 for the United States, my father heard it reported from 
 America that an accidental mistake he had made, in 
 introducing Mr. Webster, on his coming to this country 
 some time before (I believe, to Lord Brougham), under 
 the name of Mr. Clay, was intentional, and by way of 
 
252 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 joke. Annoyed that so much impertinence and bad 
 taste should be imputed to him, he wrote a few lines 
 of explanation to Mr. Webster, to which he received 
 the following answer : 
 
 "WASHINGTON, 1841. 
 "MY DEAR SlR, 
 
 " Though exceedingly delighted to hear from you, 
 I am yet much pained by the contents of your note ; 
 not so much however as I should be, were I not able 
 to give a peremptory denial to the whole report. I 
 never mentioned the incident to which you refer, as a 
 joke of yours far from it ; nor did I mention it as 
 any thing extraordinary. 
 
 "My dear, good friend, do not think me such a 
 
 as to quote or refer to any incident falling out between 
 you and me to your disadvantage. The pleasure of 
 your acquaintance is one of the jewels I brought home 
 with me. I had read of you, and read you, for thirty 
 years. I was delighted to meet you, and to have all I 
 knew of you refreshed and brightened by the charms 
 of your conversation. If any son of - - asserts that 
 either through ill-will, or love of vulgar gossip, I tell 
 such things of you as you suppose, I pray you let him 
 be knocked down instanter. And be assured, my dear 
 Sir, I never spoke of you in my life but with gratitude, 
 respect, and attachment. D. WEBSTER." 
 
 My father wrote in answer : 
 
 "Many thanks, my dear Sir, for your obliging letter. 
 I think better of myself because you think well of me. 
 If, in the imbecility of old age, I forgot your name for 
 a moment, the history of America will hereafter be 
 more tenacious in its recollections tenacious, because 
 you are using your eloquent wisdom to restrain the 
 high spirit of your countrymen within the limits of 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 253 
 
 justice, and are securing to two kindred nations, wlio 
 ought to admire and benefit eacli other, the blessings 
 of peace. How can great talents be applied to nobler 
 ends, or what existence can be more truly splendid ? 
 "Ever sincerely yours, 
 
 " SYDNEY SMITH." 
 
 I have mentioned that my father, for reasons already 
 given, had made a collection of his writings in the 
 Edinburgh Review and elsewhere ; and retracted what 
 little he felt he had been led by party prejudice to say 
 unjustly ; and I can not resist inserting here a short 
 passage from a French Review (I believe, the "Revue 
 des Deux Mondes"), because I think it is a trait in his 
 character that has been unnoticed by his countrymen. 
 
 " Quoi de plus frequent que de se dire, au fond du 
 coeur, j ai ete trop loin ceci n etait pas vrai, ceci etait 
 injuste ? mais quoi de plus rare que de rimprimcr ? 
 Voila ce que Sydney a noblement fait: trente ans 
 apres ses regards rencontrent line plaisanterie qu un 
 juge moins severe de ses propres fautes aurait pu 
 croire innocente, il ne pent s empecher de dire, II n y 
 a rien qui depare plus les letters de Plymley que cette 
 attaque dirigee. contre M. Bourne, qui est une personne 
 d honneur et de talent ; mais voila oil menent les mau- 
 vaises passions de 1 esprit de parti. Castlereagh n etait 
 pas un homme venal, ccpendant il 1 avait represente 
 comme capable de recevoir de toutes mains ; Je 1 ai 
 injustemeiit accuse, avoue-t-il franchement. II cst beau 
 d entendre de la sorte un mot fameux, et de reconnaitre, 
 en se condamnant soi-meme, qu on doit surtout la verite 
 
 He sent a copy of his works to each of my children 
 in 1842, as the best memorial of himself that he could 
 
254 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 give them : alas ! in how few years was it the only 
 memorial left. 
 
 I find among the papers left me a pretty letter from 
 his old friend Mr. Grenville, to whom my father had 
 sent what he "believed to "be a rare and valuable edition 
 of Lucan, which we had found among his books. The 
 following is an extract from it : 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR, 
 
 "Lucan was first printed in 1469; but although, 
 under these circumstances, Aldus of 1515 may not be 
 highly estimated in bibliographical reputation, still it 
 comes to me with all the value of a unique copy ; for 
 I know nobody else who would have so disposed of a 
 book with a perfect indifference to its being worth one 
 hundred pounds or one hundred pence, but with an 
 evident wish that it might turn out to be ranked under 
 the first of these two classes. Most gladly and grate 
 fully therefore shall Lucan, 1515, repose upon my 
 shelves ; with the unique distinction which I am proud 
 to attribute to.it from its highly-valued donor. 
 " Ever most truly yours, 
 
 " THOMAS GRENVILLE. 
 
 "HAMILTON PLACE, J842." 
 
 In the summer of 1843, we had a visit from Mr. 
 Moore, a visit often before promised, but never accom 
 plished. The weather and the place were lovely, and 
 seemed to inspire the charming little poet, who talked 
 and sang in his peculiar fashion, like any nightingale of 
 the Flower Valley, to the delight of us all. In true poet 
 style, when he departed, he left various articles of his 
 wardrobe scattered about. On my father writing to in 
 form him of this, he sent the following answer : 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 255 
 
 "SLOPERTON, 1843. 
 
 "MY DEAR SYDNEY, 
 
 " Your lively letter (what else could it be ?) was found 
 by me here on my return from Bowood ; and with it a 
 shoal of other letters, which it has taken me almost ever 
 since to answer. I began my answer to yours in rhyme, 
 contrasting the recollections I had brought away from 
 you, with the sort of treasures you had supposed me to 
 have left behind. This is part of it : 
 
 " Rev. Sir, having duly received by the post 
 Your list of the articles missing and lost 
 By a certain small poet, well known on the road, 
 Who visited lately your flowery abode ; 
 We have balanced what Hume calls the tottle o the ichokj 
 Making all due allowance for what the bard stole ; 
 And hoping th inclosed will be found quite correct, 
 Have the honor, Rev. Sir, to be yours with respect. 
 
 "Left behind a kid glove, once the half of a pair, 
 An odd stocking, whose fellow is Heaven knows where ; 
 And (to match these odd fellows) a couplet sublime, 
 Wanting nought to complete it but reason and rhyme. 
 
 " Such, it seems, are the only small goods you can find, 
 That this runaway bard in his flight left behind ; 
 But in settling the account, just remember, I pray, 
 What rich recollections the rogue took away ; 
 What visions forever of sunny Combe Florey, 
 Its cradle of hills, where it slumbers in glory, 
 Its Sydney himself, and the countless bright things 
 Which his tongue or his pen, from the deep shining springs 
 Of his wisdom and wit, ever flovvingly brings. 
 
 a I have not time to recollect any more ; besides I 
 was getting rather out of my depth in those deep shin 
 ing springs, though not out of yours. Kindest regards 
 to the ladies, not forgetting the pretty Hebe* of the 
 breakfast-table the day I came away. 
 
 "Yours ever most truly, 
 
 " THOMAS MOORE." 
 
 * Sir Henry Holland s youngest daughter. 
 
256 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 "BowooD, August, Tuesday, 22d, 1843. 
 
 "Mr DEAR SYDNEY, 
 
 " You said, in your acknowledgment of my late versi- 
 cles, that you had never been be-rhymed before. This 
 startled me into the recollection that I had myself once 
 before made free with you in that way ; but where the 
 evidence was of my presumption, I could not remember. 
 The verses however, written some three or four years 
 ago, have just turned up, and here they are for you. I 
 forgot, by-the-by, to tell you that, a day or two after 
 my return from Combe Florey (I like to write that name), 
 I was persuaded to get into a gig with Lady Kerry, and 
 let her drive me some miles. Next day I found out 
 that, but a day or two before, it had run away with her ! 
 no bad taste, certainly, in the horse ; but it shows 
 what one gets by consorting with young countesses and 
 frisky ecclesiastics.* 
 
 "Yours ever, THOMAS MOORE. 
 
 ******* 
 
 "And still let us laugh, preach the world as it may, 
 
 Where the cream of the joke is, the swarm will soon follow ; 
 Heroics are very fine things in their way, 
 
 But the laugh, at the long-run, will carry it hollow. 
 
 " Yes, Jocus ! gay god, whom the Gentiles supplied, 
 
 And whose worship not even among Christians declines ; 
 In our senates thou st languished, since Sheridan died, 
 But Sydney still keeps thee alive in our shrines. 
 
 " Rare Sydney ! thrice honor d the stall where he sits, 
 
 And be his every honor he deigneth to climb at ! 
 Had England a hierarchy form d all of wits, 
 
 Whom, but Sydney, would England proclaim as its primate ? 
 
 " And long may he flourish, frank, merry, and brave, 
 
 A Horace to feast with, a Pascalf to read ! 
 While he laughs, all is safe ; but, when Sydney grows grave, 
 We shall then think the Church is in danger indeed." 
 
 * Mr. Smith had driven Mr. Moore with a somewhat frisky horse. 
 Mr. Moore got out of the gig, and walked home. 
 
 t " Some parts of the Provinciales may be said to be of the highest 
 order ofjeuz d csprit" Note by Mr. Moore. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 257 
 
 About this time the very valuable living of Edmon 
 ton fell vacant, by the death of my father s fellow-canon, 
 Mr. Tate ; and by the rules of the Chapter of St. Paul s, 
 it lay with my father either to take it himself or present 
 it to a relation or friend. Remembering the honest in 
 trepidity of his old colleague, who, in spite of poverty 
 and many children, had many years before joined him 
 in a minority of two against the clergy of Yorkshire, 
 under a Tory administration, in favor of Catholic Eman 
 cipation ; and grieving at the poverty his family would 
 be reduced to by his death, he determined to bestow 
 the living on his eldest son, who had acted as his fa 
 ther s curate, if he found on inquiry that he was fitted 
 for it by his character. He has given a most touching 
 account of his interview with the unhappy widow and 
 her family on this occasion, in a letter to my mother, 
 from which I shall give some extracts. 
 
 " GREEN STREET, October 23. 
 
 "DEAREST KATE, 
 
 "I meant to have gone to Munden to-day, but am 
 not quite stout, so have postponed my journey there 
 till next Saturday, the 28th. I went over yesterday 
 to the Tates at Edmonton. The family consists of three 
 delicate daughters, an aunt, the old lady, and her son, 
 then curate of Edmonton ; the old lady was in bed. 
 I found there a physician, an old friend of Tate s, at 
 tending them from friendship, who had come from Lon 
 don for that purpose. They were in daily expectation 
 of being turned out from house and curacy. . . I began 
 by inquiring the character of their servant ; then turned 
 the conversation upon their affairs, and expressed a hope 
 the Chapter might ultimately do something for them. 
 I then said, It is my duty to state to you (they were 
 all assembled) that I have given away the living of 
 
258 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 Edmonton ; and have written to our Chapter clerk this 
 morning, to mention the person to whom I have given 
 it ; and I must also tell you, that I am sure he will ap 
 point his curate. (A general silence and dejection.) It 
 is a very odd coincidence, I added, that the gentleman 
 I have selected is a namesake of this family ; his name 
 is Tate. Have you any relations of that name? No, 
 we have not. And, by a more singular coincidence, 
 his name is Thomas Tate; in short, I added, there is 
 no use in mincing the matter, you are vicar of Edmon 
 ton. They all burst into tears. It flung me also into 
 a great agitation of tears, and I wept and groaned for a 
 long time. Then I rose, and said I thought it was very 
 likely to end in their keeping a buggy, at which we 
 all laughed as violently. 
 
 " The poor old lady, who was sleeping in a garret 
 because she could not bear to enter into the room lately 
 inhabited by her husband, sent for me and kissed me, 
 sobbing with a thousand emotions. The charitable 
 physician wept too. ... I never passed so remarkable 
 a morning, nor was more deeply impressed with the suf 
 ferings of human life, and never felt more thoroughly the 
 happiness of doing good. 
 
 " God bless you! 
 
 "SYDNEY SMITH." 
 
 On this act becoming known, my father received an 
 address from the principal parishioners of Edmonton, 
 stating that they had intended to address the Dean and 
 Chapter, respectfully soliciting their patronage in favor 
 of the son of their late vicar, and adding: "But what 
 shall we say, Reverend Sir, of that munificent act of 
 liberality on your part, by which the necessity of such 
 a memorial is superseded? Though however that ne 
 cessity is superseded, we feel, Reverend Sir, bound in 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 259 
 
 gratitude to present to you personally our united thanks, 
 for the great benefit you have bestowed on our parish, 
 and the high gratification you have afforded us." To 
 which my father replied : 
 
 "GENTLEMEN, 
 
 "I am very much pleased by the address you have 
 done me the honor to send me. ... In the choice of a 
 clergyman for the parish of Edmonton, I was actuated 
 by many considerations. I had to consult the character 
 and dignity of the Chapter, which would have been com 
 promised by the nomination of a person merely because 
 he was my friend and relation. I was to find a serious 
 and diligent man, in the prime of life, able and eager to 
 fulfill the burdensome duties of so large a parish ; and I 
 was to seek in him those characters of gentleness and 
 peace which are of such infinite importance to the char 
 acter of the Church, and the happiness of those who live 
 under the beautiful influence of these qualities. Lastly, 
 I had to show nay strong respect for the memory of one 
 of the kindest and best men that ever lived ; and to lift 
 up, if I could, from poverty and despair, his widow and 
 his children. 
 
 " The address I have the honor to receive from you 
 to-day convinces me that I have succeeded in combining 
 these objects ; and makes me really happy in thinking 
 that my conduct has obtained the approbation of so 
 many honorable men, so well acquainted with the cir 
 cumstances of the case. 
 
 " I am, Gentlemen, with great respect, 
 
 "Your obedient humble servant, 
 
 " SYDNEY SMITH." 
 
 I must add a touching little note from his old friend 
 Mrs. Marcet, to my mother, on this occasion : 
 
260 MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 " What a happy woman you must be, my dear Mrs. 
 Smith, to have such a husband! All the world know 
 his talents, but it is not many who know that heart, so 
 overflowing with generous and magnanimous feelings, 
 with tender mercies, and Christian charities. God 
 bless him ! . . . I will write it, though it makes my 
 hand ache ;* it fills my heart with joy, and my eyes 
 with tears. 
 
 " Ever affectionately yours, 
 
 "J. MARCET." 
 
 The following letter was very kindly sent to me by 
 the Bishop of London, from which I give extracts : 
 
 "MY DEAR LORD, 
 
 "I am very glad you approve of my choice. Every 
 one of the persons who have pews in his church have 
 concurred in the same sentiment, as I learn from a me 
 morial sent to me to that effect. I never saw a greater 
 scene of distress than when I went down to them the 
 poor mother ill in bed of a fever, three delicate sisters, 
 a poor and aged aunt, and the curate all expecting to 
 be turned out of house and curacy, with 100 per annum 
 between them all. The transition from despair to joy 
 was awful; I shall never forget it. ... Have mercy, 
 my dear Lord, and take 100 ;f it leaves only 700 
 per annum to the Vicar of Edmonton and his brothers ; 
 
 this will make W Hill equal to Southgate, where 
 
 the curacy is made up 200 per annum. 
 
 "Yours, my dear Lord, very sincerely, 
 
 " SYDNEY SMITH." 
 
 It is beautifully said somewhere "Happiness is what 
 
 * Mrs. M. had sprained her wrist. 
 
 t The Bishop of London had wished to divide the living. 
 
MEMOIU OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 201 
 
 all men seek ; all men have the jewel in their casket, 
 but how few find the key to open it!" The following 
 paragraph, which, I find my mother says, " was cut out 
 of our papers and preserved by Sydney," shows at least 
 that he had not sought for the key quite in vain. 
 
 " Receipt for making every Day Happy. 
 " When you rise in the morning, form a resolution to 
 make the day a happy one to a fellow-creature. It is 
 easily done ; a left-off garment to the man who needs 
 it, a kind word to the sorrowful, an encouraging expres 
 sion to the striving ; trifles in themselves light as air 
 will do it, at least for the twenty-four hours ; and, if 
 you are young, depend upon it it will tell when you are 
 old ; and, if you are old, rest assured it will send you 
 gently and happily down the stream of human time to 
 eternity. By the most simple arithmetical sum, look 
 at the result: you send one person, only one, happily 
 through the day ; that is three hundred and sixty-five 
 in the course of the year ; and supposing you live forty 
 years only after you commence that course of medicine, 
 you have made 14,600 human beings happy, at all 
 events for a time. Now, worthy reader, is this not 
 simple? It is too short for a sermon, too homely for 
 ethics, and too easily accomplished for you to say, I 
 would if I could. " 
 
 I know that my mother thought her husband s life 
 the best comment on these precepts. I sec among his 
 scattered notes on this subject, " The haunts of Happi 
 ness are varied, and rather unaccountable; but I have 
 more often seen her among little children, home fire 
 sides, and country houses, than any where else; at 
 least I think so." 
 
262 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 On his return to Combe Florey, in July, he spent 
 a few days at Nuneham, on a visit to his former dio 
 cesan, the Archbishop of York. He met there a large 
 and agreeable party; and a discussion arising, among 
 other subjects, on hardness of character, my father, at 
 the request of Miss G. Harcourt, wrote the following 
 definition of it. 
 
 " Definition of Hardness of Character. 
 
 " Hardness is a want of minute attention to the feel 
 ings of others. It does not proceed from malignity or 
 a carelessness of inflicting pain, but from a want of 
 delicate perception of those little things by which pleas 
 ure is conferred or pain excited. 
 
 "A hard person thinks he has done enough if he 
 does not speak ill of your relations, your children, or 
 your country ; and then, with the greatest good-humor 
 and volubility, and with a total inattention to your 
 individual state and position, gallops over a thousand 
 fine feelings, and leaves in every step the mark of his 
 hoofs upon your heart. Analyze the conversation of a 
 well-bred man who is clear of the besetting sin of hard 
 ness ; it is a perpetual homage of polite good-nature. 
 He remembers that you are connected with the Church, 
 and he avoids (whatever his opinions may be) the most 
 distant reflections on the Establishment. He knows 
 that you are admired, and he admires you as far as is 
 compatible with good-breeding. He sees that, though 
 young, you are at the head of a great establishment, 
 and he infuses into his manner and conversation that 
 respect which is so pleasing to all who exercise author 
 ity. He leaves you in perfect good-humor with your 
 self, because you perceive how much and how success 
 fully you have been studied. 
 
 " In the mean time the gentleman on the other side 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 263 
 
 of you (a highly moral and respectable man) has been 
 crushing little sensibilities, and violating little proprie 
 ties, and overlooking little discriminations ; and, with 
 out violating any thing which can be called a rule, or 
 committing what can be denominated a fault, has dis 
 pleased and dispirited you, from wanting that fine vision 
 which sees little things, and that delicate touch which 
 handles them, and that fine sympathy which this supe 
 rior moral organization always bestows. 
 
 " So great an evil in society is hardness, and that 
 want of perception of the minute circumstances which 
 occasion pleasure or pain ! " 
 
 Toward the end of this year (1843) my father sent a 
 *4 petition to the American Congress, for payment of the 
 \ debt due to England by the repudiating States. 
 
 It was said of Eegnault St. Jean d Angely, Presi 
 dent of the French Institute, " qu il avait passe la vie 
 en venant toujours au secours du plus fort" The 
 reverse might justly be said of my father : he passed 
 his life in minorities, and in the cause of the oppressed. 
 He says, in speaking of his motives for "undertaking the 
 one in question: "I am no enemy to America; I loved 
 and admired honest America when she respected the 
 laws of pounds, shillings, and pence, and I thought 
 the United States the most magnificent picture of hu 
 man happiness. I meddle now in these matters because 
 I hate fraud ; because I pity the misery it has occa 
 sioned ; because I mourn over the hatred it has excited 
 against free institutions." 
 
 This petition, and the letters which followed it, pro- 
 
 J duced a most extraordinary sensation, and brought 
 
 ! upon him much abuse from the American press ; 
 
 though we had reason to believe, from many sources, 
 
264 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH, 
 
 that they spoke the feelings of every honorable man 
 in America. 
 
 "And all this storm," says the editor of the "Morn 
 ing Chronicle" of the time, "has been raised by a few 
 words from a private English gentleman ! Why is it 
 that his words have had such a talismanic effect? It 
 is true, they were words of choice and singular excel 
 lence ; but no mastery of language or weight of literary 
 reputation could so have moved America, if they did 
 not happen to be employed in the utterance of home 
 truths, which are, or ought to be, sharper. than a two- 
 edged sword. We repeat, that the power of these let 
 ters lies mainly in the deep moral feeling that pervades 
 them ; and one proof of this is, the warm response they 
 have called forth from those in America, in whom the 
 moral sense is strong enough to make them speak out." 
 
 As one specimen of this, I shall insert a speech or 
 letter of Mr. Ticknor s, extracted from the "Boston 
 Semi-weekly Advertiser," and sent to my father by 
 Mr. Everett. 
 
 " The short and pungent petition to Congress of the 
 Eev. Sydney Smith, in relation to his claim on the 
 State of Pennsylvania, for interest-money due to him, 
 has already excited no little remark among us, and is 
 likely to excite yet more. This is probably one of the 
 eifects its author intended it should produce ; perhaps 
 it is one of the effects that we ourselves, as honest men 
 and patriots, ought to desire ; for the subject of his 
 petition is a grave one, that can not excite too much 
 discussion in any part of the United States. But we 
 should be careful, for our own sakes, to assume the 
 right tone when speaking of a man like Mr. Smith, 
 who only asks to be paid that to which he is as justly 
 entitled as any one of us is entitled to any thing he 
 possesses. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 205 
 
 " It lias therefore appeared to many persons unseem 
 ly that the Boston Courier should speak of Mr. Smith s 
 petition to have payment made to him of the interest, 
 which has been solemnly promised on the faith and hon 
 or of the State of Pennsylvania, merely as impudence, 
 bombast, and impertinence. The claims of a creditor 
 are not always welcome to his debtor, and, when other 
 means have failed, they are not always set forth by the 
 injured party in the most civil and gracious words ; writs 
 and executions, for instance, are not drawn up in terms 
 chosen for the sake of pleasing ears polite. Mr. Smith 
 would, no doubt, have much preferred to use the good 
 set terms of these instruments of established authority ; 
 and nobody would then have fancied he was doing any 
 thing unreasonable, since he would be doing just what 
 every body else does who can not in other ways get his 
 rights. But the great and rich State of Pennsylvania, 
 like the other States of our Union, has taken some pains 
 to place herself above the reach of such vulgar processes 
 for coercing her to be honest. She can not be sued : 
 her creditor, therefore, is compelled to use his own words, 
 instead of the more stringent words of the law. No 
 doubt Mr. Sydney Smith, when doing this, does not 
 present himself with a very cringing air : he uses strong 
 phrases, stronger than we like to hear, stronger than is 
 respectful ; but the real difficulty in the case is, that 
 the strongest words he uses are true words; for just 
 so long as the Pennsylvanians refuse to lay a tax of 
 one cent on every hundred dollars of their wealth to 
 pay their honest debts, just so long may they be 
 called men who prefer any load of infamy, however 
 great, to any pressure of taxation, however light; and 
 this is the hardest and sharpest phrase in Mr. Smith s 
 petition. To be sure, it would not be easy, on the 
 same subject, to say any thing more cutting or more 
 Y OL , T. M 
 
266 MEMO1K OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 terse ; but, after all, the bitterness of the words lies in 
 their truth. 
 
 "The New York Evening Post is more severe on 
 Mr. Smith than the Boston Courier. His petition is 
 there treated as the ravings of one who had been dis 
 appointed in reaping that profit from his speculations 
 which he expected and desired; and, because he has 
 told us that we are unstable in the very foundations of 
 social life, the writer in the Post inquires, whether 
 the Bible used by the reverend gentleman teaches him 
 that dollars and cents are the very foundation of social 
 life ? Now, it is disagreeable to witness such injustice 
 coupled with such violence of language ; the thing is 
 wrong in itself, and it does us much harm. The Rev. 
 Sydney Smith is no more a speculator than every man 
 is who lends money to his neighbor at the regular rate 
 of interest ; nor does he rave any more than every man 
 raves, who insists, in round terms, that he will be paid 
 what is plainly and lawfully due to him. Then, too, as 
 to the foundations of social life, the New York assail 
 ant of Mr. Smith really does not seem to suspect that 
 honesty and good faith are among them, and that all the 
 English clergyman asks of Pennsylvania is to be hon 
 est, in the lowest and commonest sense of that reproach 
 ful word, which we can no longer, as one would think 
 from the tone of this writer in the Post, bear to have 
 uttered in our presence. 
 
 "But let us now look at the matter just as it really 
 stands. The Rev. Sydney Smith, as any body may 
 learn who will inquire, is a man known throughout 
 Europe for his wit, logic, and the general vigor of his 
 mind. He was, above forty years ago, one of the found 
 ers and main supporters of the Edinburgh Review ; and 
 he is now one of the most popular and powerful writers 
 of his time, read alike on both sides of the Atlantic. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEY. Sl DXEY SMITH. 267 
 
 He is iin old Whig; and for the sin of maintaining man 
 fully, against all his worldly interests, the cause of free 
 institutions, the cause of Irish emancipation, and the 
 cause of Parliamentary reform, he was kept low in the 
 Church, as long as the Tories had power ; and support 
 ed himself and his family, in no small degree, by his 
 pen. He was, in fact, for many years a very poor par 
 son, in a very poor parish in Yorkshire, where he was 
 much loved "by his parishioners for his active goodness ; 
 taking pains, among other things, to study medicine, in 
 order to be able to practice it gratuitously among them, 
 as there was no physician in their neighborhood, and 
 they could not afford to send abroad for one. When 
 he was about sixty years old, the Whigs came into 
 office, and gave him a good living. From this, it seems, 
 he made in his old age some savings : and, having con 
 fidence in free institutions and American honesty, he in 
 vested a part, or the whole, of these savings in Penn 
 sylvania stocks. But his interest there is not paid, and 
 his capital is shrunk to a merely nominal value. He 
 of course complains. He tells us even that we are not 
 honest. We answer, you rave, you are impertinent, 
 you are impudent, you are a reverend slanderer. 
 But what, in the mean time, do honorable men every 
 where say better about us ? and how comfortably does 
 an American, always before so proud to call himself 
 such, feel, who is now traveling in any part of the world 
 out of his own country ! Nay, how do we ourselves 
 feel about our conduct and character in our own secret 
 hearts at home ? 
 
 " One word more. The Rev. Sydney Smith is, after 
 all, only the representative of a very large class of men, 
 chiefly in England, but also to be found scattered more 
 or less over the best portions of the continent of Europe, 
 who now think and talk of the indebted States of Amer- 
 
268 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH, 
 
 ica exactly as he does. They are men of moderate prop 
 erty and much intelligence. They have had greater con 
 fidence in free institutions than the rich and the power 
 ful around them. They have looked upon us Americans 
 especially with kindness, respect, and cheerful trust ; 
 when others, of more worldly consideration than them 
 selves, have looked upon us with aversion and contempt. 
 They have been, in short, our sincere friends ; and part 
 ly because they were our friends, and believed in us 
 and our forms of government, they have lent us their 
 money to the amount of above a hundred millions of 
 dollars ; perhaps more nearly two hundred. And how 
 have we requited their confidence ? Mr. Smith s pe 
 tition may inform us. We may learn from it, too, that 
 we must do something to regain for ourselves the de 
 cent consideration among mankind which we have for 
 feited and forfeited, too, merely to save ourselves from 
 paying a certain number of dollars and cents, as the 
 writer in the Evening Post would say, which we are 
 quite aware we honestly owe. 
 
 " The people of Massachusetts and New England, 
 and indeed the people of the majority of these States, 
 are not called upon to take to themselves any more of 
 the censures of Mr. Smith than a man is obliged to take 
 of the censures that fall on a disgraced community with 
 which he is intimately associated. We may therefore 
 well be thankful, and in some degree proud, that these 
 States have committed no injustice toward their credit 
 ors ; but while we are thankful for this, we must also 
 be careful not to countenance the dishonest States in 
 their dishonesty, nor to seem eager to rebuke a foreign 
 creditor who comes among us boldly demanding his 
 dues." 
 
 But what gratified my father most was a private let- 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 2G9 
 
 ter lie received, shortly after his American letters were 
 written, from his friend Mr. Wainwright, giving an ac 
 count of the arrival of a steamer at New York, with a 
 Sydney Smith on board. Mr. Wainwright s letter best 
 states what happened. 
 
 YORK, July 15fA, 1844. 
 4 REV. AND DEAR SlR, 
 
 " Upon the recent arrival of the Great Western, in 
 the list of passengers published, was Sydney Smith ! 
 The next morning the newspapers trumpeted through 
 out the land that the founder of the Edinburgh Re 
 view, the distinguished Prebendary of St. Paul s, 
 the man of a thousand of the happiest sayings of the 
 age, and, above all, the scourge of repudiating Penn 
 sylvania, had actually arrived in this remote hemi 
 sphere ! "What was to be done ? Should he be tarred 
 and feathered, or lynched ? Quite the contrary ! He 
 was to }*& feted, rejoiced in, and even Pennsylvania was 
 to meet him with cordial salutations. A hundred din 
 ners were arranged at the moment, and the guests se 
 lected. When, lo ! he who had caused this great ex 
 citement turned out to be some humble New York 
 trader, of whom nobody had ever heard before ! Now 
 he might have signed himself S. Smith, and all would 
 have been well ; it would have passed for Samuel, 
 Simeon, or Shearjashub. But in an evil hour he had 
 the vanity or presumption to write in full, and hence 
 have come upon us disappointments without end. As 
 a proper reparation, we must insist upon his applying 
 to the Legislature to have an agnomen with which he 
 has no business changed. 
 
 "Among the disappointed were numbers of my con 
 gregation, who, seeing a very dignified clerical-looking 
 stranger in my pew at St. John s, the day after the 
 
270 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 Western arrived, jumped at the conclusion, and stared 
 a worthy ecclesiastic almost out of countenance as he 
 went out of church ; and his only consolation is, that 
 he came nearer to passing for a wit than he ever did 
 before, or ever will again. But the most disappointed 
 person was your old schoolmate, and my excellent 
 friend, Moore ; who, being confined to the house, and 
 hearing the Sunday report from his family, was mo 
 mentarily expecting, for three hours after service, to 
 take his Winchester friend by the hand. 
 
 "Now, would it be possible for you to give us the 
 only solace for these disappointments ? The ships and 
 steamers are admirable, the passage in summer and au 
 tumn by no means arduous, the greeting awaiting you 
 the heartiest possible, and the country and people you 
 will judge of them when you come. In New York you 
 will find a home prepared in my house ; and to show 
 you that you will not want others in other places, I 
 send you a letter which I received from the Bishop of 
 New Jersey, from his beautiful place, Riverside. 
 "Most truly your obedient friend and servant, 
 
 " J. M. WAIN WEIGHT. 
 
 From the Bishop of .New Jersey. 
 
 " RIVERSIDE, July Sth, 1844. 
 
 " MY DEAR WAIN WRIGHT, 
 
 " I notice the arrival of the Rev. Sydney Smith by 
 the Great Western. I desire to offer him the hospi 
 tality of Riverside. You have been promising me a 
 visit ; I propose to you that you invite him to come on 
 with you on Monday or Tuesday of next week, as may 
 be most agreeable to you. I name that time, as we 
 propose a visit to Niagara, Toronto, etc., on the follow 
 ing week. Let me hear from you as soon as convenient. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 271 
 
 I observe that your daughter has sailed for Europe ; we 
 follow her with our best wishes. 
 
 "With best love to all yours, ever your affectionate 
 brother, G." W. Do AXE." 
 
 Though my father made his own claims the plea for 
 undertaking this cause, he was now become, through 
 private sources, a rich man, and what he lost was a 
 mere trifle. But during the excitement his letters 
 caused, it was curious that, while abuse flowed in from 
 the other side of the Atlantic by every packet, which 
 he used to read to us at breakfast with great good-hu 
 mor, on this side he was regarded as the lion s mouth 
 at Venice. He writes on one occasion, evidently much 
 amused : 
 
 VAN DE WEYER, 
 " Many thanks ; they seem puzzled with the whole 
 thing, and can not make me out. What a mistake, to 
 depreciate my beauty and my orthodoxy ! 
 " Ever yours, 
 
 " SYDNEY SMITH." 
 
 Letter after letter poured in by every post ; of grati 
 tude, encouragement, thanks, tales of losses and miser 
 ies occasioned by this want of faith in the repudiating 
 States, as if these aggrieved persons looked upon him as 
 the champion of public faith throughout Christendom. 
 
 I ought, in justice, to mention, that together with the 
 abuse, there came frequently from America little offer 
 ings, such as apples, cheese, etc., from unknown indi 
 viduals ; unwilling, as they said, to share the public 
 shame, and offering their quota toward the payment of 
 the Pennsylvania!! debt. 
 
272 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 I have, in the first part of this Memoir, given some 
 few extracts, to show the deep impression he then pro 
 duced in the pulpit ; I shall now give one, written on 
 hearing him in his old age, by a medical man, of emi 
 nence in his profession. 
 
 "MY DEAR MR. SMITH, 
 
 14 Not being a brown man of Pennsylvania, I pay 
 my just debts ; and I offer to you the tribute of my 
 sincere thanks for one of the most impressive and elo 
 quent discourses, delivered yesterday at St. Paul s, that 
 it has ever fallen to my lot to hear. I wish I could read 
 it. There is a magic in your name, which, if it was 
 published, would incite every body to read it, and no 
 one is too good or too bad not to derive profit from such 
 an appeal to his reason and his conscience. To pass by 
 your merits of style and elocution peculiar, and be 
 yond my praise the simple, straightforward method of 
 treating your subject, delighted me. It is a rare and 
 refreshing gratification to listen, in these times of dis 
 cord and strife on matters of faith, to a preacher whose 
 improvement of his text is not encumbered by refer 
 ences to historical or traditional details ; and whose 
 style, clear, logical, and fervid, carries with him the 
 reason as well as the feeling of his audience, by making 
 their intellects a party to their conviction. The mys 
 tical phraseology of scriptural preachers (so called) al 
 ways appears to me a hinderance, rather than a help, to 
 serious piety ; and I should hail the day of salvation 
 for the Church, not of this nor of that denomination, 
 but of Christ, when such sermons were heard in every 
 cathedral throughout the country, as that which you 
 delivered in the Metropolitan last Sunday; which, I 
 will undertake to assert, no hearer did not feel to be a 
 spiritual gain and encouragement." 
 
2HEMOIU OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 273 
 
 Another short sketch, lately sent me by my friend 
 Mrs. Austin, I shall also insert ; giving her impressions 
 on hearing my father for the first time preach in St. 
 Paul s. She went there at his invitation, in conse 
 quence of a previous conversation, in which Mrs. Aus- 
 lin, after expressing her surprise at the feeble effect 
 generally produced in the pulpit, attributed it in part 
 to the vague generalities to which preachers too often 
 confined themselves. Standing there, as they do, with 
 the enormous advantage of duty, reason, and religion 
 commanding them to speak, she thought that they 
 ought to make each moral evil which afflicts society the 
 object of special and energetic attack. 
 
 "For example," she said, "why do you not preach 
 a sermon against the love of war?" My father, who 
 most warmly coincided with these feelings against war, 
 as may be seen in many of his letters, exclaimed, "You 
 are right; it shall be done; come and hear me." She 
 went, and shall tell her own impressions. 
 
 " I was immediately struck, as I have frequently 
 been since, at the peculiar character and aspect of the 
 congregation at St. Paul s ; and at the remarkable sym 
 pathy that appeared to exist between the pastor and 
 his flock. The choir was densely filled, yet it would 
 have been difficult to detect in the crowd any of those 
 diversities of station which are usually but too strongly 
 marked in a London church. It appeared one homo 
 geneous body of sedate, earnest, respectable citizens and 
 their families no obtrusive air of fashion, no painful 
 look of poverty. 
 
 "I must confess that I went to hear Mr. Smith 
 preach, with some misgiving as to the effect which that 
 well-known face and voice, ever associated with wit 
 and mirth, might have upon me, even in the sacred 
 place. Never were misgivings more quickly and en- 
 
 M* 
 
274 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 tirely dissipated. The moment he appeared in the pul 
 pit, all the weight of his duty, all the authority of his 
 office, were written on his countenance ; and without a 
 particle of affectation (of which he was incapable), his 
 whole demeanor bespoke the gravity of his purpose.* 
 Perhaps indeed it was the more striking to one who 
 had till then only seen him delighting society by his 
 gay and overflowing wit. As soon as he began to 
 speak, the whole choir, upon which I looked down, ex 
 hibited one mass of upraised, attentive, thoughtful faces. 
 It seemed as if his deep, earnest tones were caught 
 with silent eagerness ; and I could not but feel that the 
 perfect good sense, the expansive benevolence, the plain 
 exposition of Christian duty, which fell from his lips, 
 found a soil well fitted to receive it. His hearers looked 
 like men who came prepared to mark, and able in 
 wardly to digest, the truths and the counsels he so 
 clearly and emphatically placed before them. I remem 
 ber no religious service which ever appeared to me more 
 solemn, more impressive, or more calculated to bear its 
 appropriate fruit the subjugation of fierce and restless 
 passions, and the culture of a just, humane, and Chris 
 tian temper." 
 
 This winter Miss Edgeworth visited London for the 
 last time. During her visit she saw much of my fa 
 ther ; and her talents, as well as her love and, thorough 
 knowledge of Ireland, made her conversation peculiarly 
 agreeable to him. I wish I had kept some notes of 
 these conversations, which were very remarkable ; but 
 
 * I can not resist adding here how often and how strongly I have 
 felt this sudden and impressive change in my father. On entering the 
 pulpit, the calm dignity of his eye, mien, and voice, made one feel that 
 he was indeed, and felt himself to be, " the pastor standing between 
 our God and his people," to teach his laws, to declare his judgments, 
 and proclaim his mercies. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 275 
 
 I have only a characteristic and amusing letter she 
 wrote to me soon after her return home, from which the 
 following is an extract : 
 
 " I have not the absurd presumption to think your 
 father would leave London or Combe Florey, for Ire 
 land, voluntarily ; but I wish some Irish bishopric were 
 forced upon him, and that his own sense of national 
 charity and humanity would forbid him to refuse. 
 Then, obliged to reside among us, he would see, in 
 the twinkling of an eye (such an eye as his), all our 
 manifold grievances up and clown the country. One 
 word, one bo?i mot of his, would do more for us, I 
 guess, than Mr. - s four hundred pages, and all the 
 like, with which we have been bored. One letter from 
 Sydney Smith on the affairs of Ireland, with his name 
 to it, and after having been there, would do more for us 
 than his letters did for America and England a bold 
 assertion, you will say, and so it is ; but I calculate 
 that Pat is a far better subject for wit than Jonathan ; 
 it only plays round Jonathan s head, but it goes to 
 Pat s heart to the very bottom of his heart, where he 
 loves it ; and he don t care whether it is for or against 
 him, so that it is real wit and fun. Now Pat would 
 doat upon your father, and kiss the rod with all his 
 soul, he would the lash just lifted when he d see the 
 laugh on the face, the kind smile, that would tell him it 
 was all for his good. 
 
 "Your father would lead Pat (for he d never drive 
 him) to the world s end, and maybe to common sense 
 at the end might open his eyes to the true state of 
 things and persons, and cause him to ax himself how it 
 comes that, if he be so distressed by the Sassenach land 
 lords that he can t keep soul and body together, nor one 
 farthing for the wife and children, after paying the rint 
 
270 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 for the land, still and nevertheless he can pay King 
 Dan s rint, aisy thousands of pounds, not for lands or 
 potatoes, but just for castles in the air. Methinks I 
 hear Pat saying the words, and see him jump to the 
 conclusion, that maybe the gintleman, his reverence, 
 that l has the way with him, 9 * might be the man after 
 all to do them all the good in life, and asking nothing 
 at all from them. Better, sure, than Dan, after all! 
 and we will follow him through thick and thin. Why 
 no ? What though he is his reverence, the Church, that 
 is, our clear gy, won t object to him ; for he was never 
 an inimy any way, but always for paying them off hand 
 some, and fools if they don t take it now. So down with 
 King Dan, for he s no good ! and up with Sydney he s 
 the man, king of glory / 
 
 " But, visions of glory, and of good better than giory, 
 spare my longing sight ! else I shall never come to an 
 end of this note. Note indeed ! I beg your pardon. 
 "Yours affectionately, 
 
 "MARIA EDGEWORTH." 
 
 Miss Edgeworth says, in one of her letters to her sis 
 ter, after one of the evenings spent in my father s socie 
 ty " Delightful, I need not say ; but to attempt to 
 Boswell Sydney Smith s conversation would be out- 
 Boswelling Boswell indeed." I have felt the truth of 
 this observation most strongly in writing these Memoirs, 
 and should have flung down my pen in despair had I not 
 
 * This expression, " that has the war/ with him" refers to a conversa 
 tion my father had with Dr. Doyle, at a time he was anxious to learn 
 as far as possible what effect the measures he was proposing would have 
 upon the Catholics. He proposed that Government should pay the 
 Catholic priests. "They would not take it," said Dr. Doyle. "Do 
 you mean to say, that if every priest in Ireland received to-morroic morning 
 a Government letter with a hundred pounds , FIRST QUARTER of their year s 
 income, they would refuse it?" "Ah, Mr. Smith," said Dr. Doyle, 
 " you ve, such a way of putting things !" 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 277 
 
 liad brighter and better, though easier things to tell, than 
 the effusions of his wit. 
 
 I shall now give a short correspondence between my 
 lather arid Sir Robert Peel, as it does equal honor to 
 both: 
 
 "MaySt/i, 1844. 
 
 " SIR, 
 
 " I am informed there will be a vacancy in July of a 
 clerkship in the Record Office, in that department of it 
 over which Mr. Hardy, I believe, presides. There is a 
 family of the name of - , residing in - , who have 
 formerly been in affluence, but have fallen with the fall 
 of the West Indies. The mother and daughter are 
 teaching music. The son is an excellent lad, under 
 standing and speaking French and German, and is a 
 humble candidate for this situation of Clerk of the 
 Records, worth about eighty pounds per annum. Mr. 
 Hardy, a very old friend of the family, is very desirous 
 of getting the young man into his office. A better family 
 does not exist, or one fighting up more bravely against 
 adversity. The mother has been repeatedly to me, to 
 beg I would state these things to you. I stated to her 
 that I had so little the honor of your acquaintance, that, 
 though I had met you, I should hardly presume to bow 
 to you in the street. But the poor lady said I had evi 
 dence to give, if I had not influence to use ; and at last 
 I consented to do what I am doing. I beg therefore to 
 observe, I am not asking any thing of you (no man has 
 less right to do so) ; I am merely stating facts to you 
 respecting an office of which you have the disposal. 
 I have no other acquaintance with the family than 
 through their misfortunes, borne with such unshaken 
 constancy. 
 
 " I beg you will not give yourself the trouble to an 
 swer this letter. If mv evidence induces von to make 
 
278 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 any inquiries about the young lad, that will be the best 
 answer. If not, I shall attribute it to some of the in 
 numerable obstacles which prevent a person in your sit 
 uation from giving way to the impulses of compassion 
 and good-nature. 
 
 "I have the honor to be, etc., 
 
 " SYDNEY SMITH." 
 
 "WHITEHALL, May Gth, 1844. 
 " SIR, 
 
 " I do not recollect that I ever made a promise of an 
 appointment not actually vacant. I try to defer as long 
 as possible the evil day which brings to me the invidi 
 ous duty of selecting one from a hundred candidates, 
 and disappointment to ninety-nine of them. 
 
 "But I am so sure that, when the particular vacancy 
 mentioned in your letter shall occur, there will be no 
 claim which it will give me greater satisfaction to com 
 ply with, than one brought under my notice by you, 
 from such kind and benevolent motives as those which 
 alone would induce you to write to me, that I do not 
 hesitate a moment in making an exception from my 
 general rule, and in at once giving you a promise, either 
 that Mr. shall have the appointment you name, or 
 one equally eligible ; and not at a more distant period, 
 if possible. 
 
 "All the return I shall ask from you is the privilege 
 of renewing, when we meet, the honor of your acquaint 
 ance. 
 
 " I am, Sir, with sincere esteem, 
 
 "Your faithful servant, 
 
 PEEL." 
 
 The office was granted, and he had the satisfaction to 
 hear that the young man was found most efficient in it. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 279 
 
 He shortly after sent Sir Robert Peel liis works, with 
 the " sincere respect and esteem of the author" written 
 on the title-page. He received the following answer : 
 
 " WHITEHALL. 
 "DEAR SlR, 
 
 " Though you have not opened to me any new source 
 of interest or instruction, I thank you sincerely for the 
 volumes you have sent me, and for the few words in the 
 first page which put on record my title to them. 
 
 " They arc duplicates of a work which has been in 
 my possession since the first day of its publication. 1 
 am very familiar with its contents ; and have no feel 
 ing connected with my general recollection of them, but 
 those to which the combination of good sense, wit, and 
 genius naturally give rise. 
 "Believe me, my dear Sir, very faithfully yours, 
 
 "ROBERT PEEL." 
 
 The following are a few notes from the journal of a 
 lady, since distinguished, botli by her talents and the 
 use she has made of them, who formed the acquaint 
 ance of my father many years ago. She gave them to 
 me, adding, prettily, the pleasure it gave her to be able, 
 by so doing, to throw one more stone on my father s 
 cairn. With these I have mingled some few anecdotes 
 from other sources. 
 
 "If I recollect right, it was about the year 1812 that 
 I first had the gratification to meet Mr. Sydney Smith 
 it was at the house of Mr. Josiah Wedgcwood. He 
 arrived about the middle of the day, with his wife and 
 children. He entered, and in an instant made eveiy 
 body feel at their ease, and infused a portion of his 
 own animation into all around him. I remember him 
 standing with his back to the fire, or leaning over the 
 
280 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 back of liis chair, conversing with us for several hours. 
 The conversation turned, among other things, on poli 
 tics. I consider the Whigs as shipwrecked forever ; 
 no chance of my being made even a dean ; so I have 
 laid down my plan of life. I will make myself, if not 
 as rich as others, at least as rich and happy as an hon 
 est man can be. The next morning he took a long- 
 walk over the hills with us ; and most agreeable he 
 was, giving out his mind with a variety and abundance 
 of ideas which delighted us, and showed how little need 
 he had of external excitement to call forth his powers 
 of wit and wisdom. He was at this time stout made, 
 his face handsome, with that pale embonpoint which 
 always distinguished him, and his remarkable deep dark 
 eye, which I think retained its character even to the last ; 
 indeed, I should say, never was the external appearance 
 of any man less altered by years than his. When speak 
 ing of the impression made by his manner and appear 
 ance, his delightful laugh must not be forgotten so 
 genuine, so full of hearty enjoyment, that it was a source 
 of gayety only to hear it. It was his custom to stroll 
 about the room in which we were sitting, and which 
 was lined with books, taking down one lot after an 
 other, sometimes reading or quoting aloud, sometimes 
 discussing any subject that arose. He took down a 
 sort of record of those men who had lived to a great 
 age. A record of little value, said Mrs. W., as to 
 live longer than other people can hardly be the desire 
 of any one. It is not so much the longevity, he an 
 swered, that is valued, as that original build and con 
 stitution, that condition of health and habit of life, which 
 not only leads to longevity, but makes life enjoyable 
 while it lasts, that renders the subject interesting and 
 worth inquiry. 
 
 " I think a good life of Erasmus much wanted ; the 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 281 
 
 rnild conciliating temper of the subject would make it no 
 unfit theme for a lady s pen. 
 
 " You must preach, Mr. Smith, said Mrs. W. (it 
 was Saturday). We must go and try the pulpit, 
 then, said he, to see if it suits me. So to the church 
 we walked ; and how he amused us by his droll way 
 of trying the pulpit, as he called it ; his criticisms on 
 the little old-fashioned sounding-board, which seemed 
 ready to fall on his head, and which, he said, would 
 infallibly extinguish him ! I can t bear, said he, to 
 be imprisoned in the true orthodox way in my pulpit, 
 with my head just peeping above the desk. I like to 
 look down upon my congregation to fire into them. 
 The common people say I am a bould preacher, for I 
 like to have my arms free, and to thump the pulpit. 
 A singular contretem2)S happened to me once, when, to 
 eifect this, I had ordered the clerk to pile up some has 
 socks for me to stand on. My text was, "We are 
 perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not for 
 saken; cast down, but not destroyed/ I had scarcely 
 uttered these words, and was preparing to illustrate them, 
 when I did so practically, and in a way I had not at 
 all anticipated. My fabric of hassocks suddenly gave 
 way; down I fell, and with difficulty prevented my 
 self from being precipitated into the arms of my con 
 gregation ; who, I must say, behaved very well, and 
 recovered their gravity sooner than I could have ex 
 pected. But my adventure was not so bad as that of a 
 friend of mine. A tame raven had got into the church ; 
 no sooner did he begin his sermon, than the raven, in 
 high caw, rushed at his book, seized it in his bill, and 
 had almost effected his escape with it, before the aston 
 ished preacher was aware of his danger. He caught at 
 it, however ; therbird pulled and cawed, he tugged and 
 scolded ; the congregation were to a man with the bird, 
 
282 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 who fought valiantly for his prize ; and it was not till 
 after a severe struggle, in which victory remained for a 
 long time doubtful, that my friend rescued his sermon 
 and "banished his enemy, amidst the roars of laughter of 
 his congregation. 
 
 " I have never seen any one who approached Syd 
 ney Smith in power of thought, united with the great 
 est candor. He was one who saw subjects on all sides 
 from the height of an elevated genius. His reputation 
 has been much founded on his powers of entertaining, 
 which are very great, indeed unrivaled ; yet I prefer his 
 serious conversation. One morning, seeing me loung 
 ing in the library, looking at idle books, he took down 
 Berkeley on Vision, and advised me to read it, as ex 
 cessively ingenious and well worth making myself ac 
 quainted with. 
 
 " Live, said lie, always in the best company when 
 you read. Xo one in youth thinks on the value of 
 time. Do you ever reflect how you pass your life ? If 
 you live to seventy-two, which I hope you may, your 
 life is spent in the following manner : An hour a day 
 is three years ; this makes twenty-seven years sleeping, 
 nine years dressing, nine years at table, six years play 
 ing with children, nine years walking, drawing, and vis 
 iting, six years shopping, and three years quarreling. I 
 did not then perhaps value these marks of interest in the 
 progress of a young girl s mind as I have learned to do 
 since. 
 
 "In 1816 I had again the happiness to pass a few 
 days with Mr. Smith in the same family, and we found 
 him, if possible, still more delightful than before : he 
 would sit for hours with us by the fire, discoursing and 
 making us all wiser and better, and of course most proud 
 and happy, by his notice. One day he took a walk by 
 the canal : he put a case of morality : a man digging a 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 283 
 
 canal discovers some limestone-rock, waits till the land 
 comes into the market, purchases it, and makes a great 
 deal of money by his discovery. I doubted whether the 
 man was right ; he maintained the man had a right to 
 profit by his own discovery. The discussion lasted long, 
 but I only recollect the patience he had with my argu 
 ments ; and though he did not succeed in converting me 
 to his opinion at that time, he did not make me feel afraid 
 to own it to him. 
 
 " Keep as much as possible in the grand and com 
 mon road of life ; patent educations or habits seldom 
 succeed. Depend upon it, men set more value on the 
 cultivated minds than on the accomplishments of wom 
 en, which they are rarely able to appreciate. It is a 
 common error, but it is an error, that literature unfits 
 women for the every-day business of life. It is not so 
 with men : you see those of the most cultivated minds 
 constantly devoting their time and attention to the most 
 homely objects. Literature gives women a real and 
 proper weight in society, but then they must use it 
 with discretion ; if the stocking is blue, the petticoat 
 must be long, as my friend Jeffrey says ; the want of 
 this has furnished food for ridicule in all ages. 
 
 " Never give way to melancholy; resist it steadily, 
 for the habit will encroach. I once gave a lady two- 
 and-twenty recipes against melancholy : one was a 
 bright fire ; another, to remember all the pleasant things 
 said to and of her ; another, to keep a box of sugar 
 plums on the chimney-piece, and a kettle simmering on 
 the hob. I thought this mere trifling at the moment, 
 but have in after-life discovered how true it is that these 
 little pleasures often banish melancholy better than 
 higher and more exalted objects ; and that no means 
 ought to be thought too trifling which can oppose it 
 either in ourselves or others. 
 
284- MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 " Oh ! I am happy to see all wlio will visit me ; I 
 have lived twenty years in tlie country, and have never 
 met a bore. 
 
 " Industry ! you may do any thing with industry. 
 A friend of mine has mastered Greek, Latin, mathe 
 matics, and music, in an extraordinary degree, together 
 with all the ologies / and yet, without any remarkable 
 abilities, by industry alone. 
 
 " The Law is decidedly the best profession for a 
 young man, if he has any thing in him. In the Church 
 a man is thrown into life with his hands tied, and bid 
 to swim ; he does well if he keeps his head above water. 
 But then in the law he must have a stout heart and an 
 iron digestion, and must be regular as the town clock, 
 or he may as well retire. Attorneys expect in a law 
 yer the constancy of the turtle-dove. 
 
 " Some one said it was fool-hardy in General Fitz- 
 patrick to insist upon going up alone in the balloon, 
 when it was found there was not force to carry up two. 
 ISTo, he said, there is always something sublime in 
 sacrificing to great principles ; his profession was cour 
 age. 
 
 "Many years after, I met him at the house of a re 
 lation in London. He called in on his way from some 
 dinner-party or other; he was in high spirits, and never, 
 I think, did such a torrent of wit, fun, nonsense, pointed 
 remark, just observation, and happy illustration, flow 
 pellmell from the lips of a man. That is the only time 
 in my life that I ever saw him in what is called full 
 force, and it made an impression on me which I can 
 never forget. 
 
 " I saw him again after the appearance of my first 
 book. How kind he was ! how happy and polite were 
 the things he said upon the occasion ! How few have 
 the art to do such things so well ! He made me sit by 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 285 
 
 him, and paid me the refined compliment of letting me 
 feel that he thought my mind worth inquiring into. 
 After this I saw him only as one of the general circle, 
 collected around him in a London drawing-room, where 
 he kept up the ball of conversation Iby his irresistible 
 and inexhaustible fun and fancy ; but I still, as in early 
 life, continued to prefer his serious conversation his 
 wisdom to his wit" 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Pamphlet on Ballot. Fragment on Irish Church. Letter from Lord 
 Murray. Lines written on receiving Garden-chair. Lines by Lady 
 Carlisle. Christens child. Sketch of Life and Conversation at 
 Combe Florey. Advice to Parishioners. Conversation. Medicines 
 for the Poor. Saves Servant s Life. Fallacies. Studies. Kecipe 
 for Salad. Letter of Marion de Lorme. Imitation of Sir James 
 Mackintosh. Close of the Day. 
 
 AFTER this period, the only things he wrote were a 
 short pamphlet on the ballot, which went through many 
 editions, and had much success ; and the Fragment on 
 Ireland, which he left "behind, and which my mother 
 published after his death ; showing that lie died as he 
 had lived, earnest in the cause of religious toleration 
 and the amelioration of Ireland. But though he did 
 not live to see all he wished in Ireland accomplished, 
 yet, as Johnson says, " he who is cut off in the execu 
 tion of an honest undertaking, has at least the honor of 
 falling in his rank, and has fought the battle, though 
 he missed the victory." 
 
 In the autumn, hearing that his friend Mr. Van de 
 "Weyer and his family were coming into the west, my 
 father sent him the following note : 
 
 October, 1843. 
 
 " Health to the greatest of diplomatists, and, to the Bel 
 gian kingdom, trade, glory, and peace ! You must not 
 pass this way without visiting Combe Florey ; we shall 
 expect you on the 9th we dine at seven Madame Van 
 de Weyer, you, and the little embassador. We are six 
 miles from Taunton, and Taunton is an hour and a half 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 287 
 
 from Bristol. If you write to Sweet s Hotel, they will 
 have horses ready for you, and the people know the way 
 to my house. Pray write a line to say whether we may 
 expect you ; we shall be delighted to see you, and truly 
 mortified to miss you. 
 
 "Yours ever very truly, 
 
 " SYDNEY SMITH." 
 
 They came and spent a day or two with us ; days, 
 alas ! of incessant rain, putting the charms of the little 
 parsonage to the severest trial. But if it was dark and 
 gloomy without, it was all gayety and sunshine within; 
 for our guests came disposed to be pleased with every 
 thing they found, and the intercourse of two such re 
 markable men as Mr. Van de Wcyer and my father, both 
 loving to exercise their minds on grave and important 
 subjects, and both possessing such a fund of knowledge, 
 wit, anecdote, and clever nonsense, to intermingle with 
 them, made one quite forget the passage of time, and the 
 visit seemed over almost as soon as begun. They left 
 us on the most lovely morning, when Combe Florey had 
 put on her gayest and freshest garb ; and carried away, 
 I trust, as agreeable impressions as they left behind. In 
 the evening of the same day arrived Mr. Van de Wey- 
 er s secretary, bearing a summons to Windsor, which, 
 owing to Mr. Van de Weycr s movements, had remained 
 some days unnoticed, and it became necessary to follow 
 
 him to Bowood immediately. But as Mr. De la P 
 
 could not arrive till one or two in the morning, my father 
 thought Madame Van de Wcyer might be much alarmed 
 by suddenly hearing, in the middle of the night, that a 
 messenger had arrived from home, and it was agreed 
 that Mr. De la Pe should send in the following note, 
 to set their minds at ease. 
 
288 MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 "DEAR VAN DE WEYER, 
 
 " Long live the Belgiac lion ! long may lie roar over 
 the tiger of France ! You are wanted at Windsor. De 
 
 la P is below. The young embassador and all the 
 
 children, and all the grandpapas, are quite well. There 
 is an air of piety in De la P - that is very agreeable 
 to me. 
 
 "Ever yours, 
 
 " SYDNEY SMITH. 
 " Get up immediately." 
 
 And he wrote at more length, to explain, as he says, 
 his share in the transaction. 
 
 " DEAR VAN DE WEYER, 
 
 " Let me explain my share in the proceedings. Be 
 tween five and six o clock appeared, in a fly, a grave 
 
 person, who denominated himself Octave de la P , 
 
 in search of you. I concluded, by the solemnity of his 
 aspect, that he was come to announce the last days of 
 the Belgian monarchy. On the contrary, it was to car 
 ry you off to the Castle at Windsor. He could not go 
 from hence, seeing the time of his arrival, till the eleven 
 o clock train ; and as he was resolute to have you, and 
 I believe Madame also, in London by six o clock to 
 morrow, we agreed that nothing remained but to proceed 
 to Chippenham in the train, to extract you from Bowood, 
 and to convey you to the Metropolis. I told him he 
 would be most probably shot at Bowood by the watch 
 man ; but he declared that his papers were all in order, 
 and to die in the performance of his duty was a glorious 
 death for a Belgian. I wrote a jocular note to send up 
 to your bedside, that you might not be alarmed about 
 your children. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 289 
 
 " If Octave do la P - lias perished in the invasion 
 of Bowood, I certify tliat lie died with the deepest ad 
 miration of the ever-memorable Belgic revolution. 
 " Yours very truly, 
 
 " SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 " October 12th, 1843." 
 
 A short time before my father s death, Lord Jeffrey 
 had likewise made a collection of his contributions to 
 the Edinburgh Review ; which collection he did my 
 father the honor to dedicate to him, and, by a few words 
 in it, confirmed my father s account of its origin. 1 
 have heard my father say that there was hardly any 
 event in the whole course of his life, that had gratified 
 him more deeply than this dedication from his old friend, 
 Lord Jeffrey. 
 
 As I am anxious to make this sketch of my father as 
 complete as possible, I shall here insert a few extracts 
 from a letter, containing his recollections of him, written 
 at my request by Lord Murray ; who speaks not only 
 with the authority of his own high character, but of 
 early acquaintance, and an unbroken friendship of half 
 a century. 
 
 " Sydney s acute and almost intuitive perception of 
 character made him at once detect whatever was ficti 
 tious or assumed ; but though this never escaped his 
 keen observation, he was, I firmly believe, more severe 
 toward himself than he was ever toward any other per 
 son. His disgust at hypocrisy made him so anxious to 
 avoid the semblance of any attempt to appear better 
 than he was, that he did not always do himself justice. 
 Many, I should say most, of his just or benevolent ac 
 tions were only known to his most intimate friends, and 
 VOL. L N 
 
290 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 that accidentally.* The goodness of his heart was only 
 revealed by his acts. 
 
 "He was so free and open in discourse, that he gave 
 all manner of advantage to those who were disposed to 
 distrust a person overflowing in genial wit and humor. 
 
 "Though Sydney Smith could not avoid being con 
 scious of his great powers of writing and speaking, I 
 firmly believe that his estimate of himself and of his 
 own character were truly humble. He was ready to 
 acknowledge the superiority of persons whose abilities 
 were inferior to his own. He claimed little more for 
 himself than practical common sense ; but though this 
 was all he claimed, he could not help clothing his sound 
 sense with language which was beautiful, and at the 
 same time more witty and humorous than that of other 
 men. Yet, putting himself lower in the scale, I believe, 
 than he had a fair right to be, he never acquiesced in 
 any opinions in which he did not agree, though coming 
 from the highest station, either secular or clerical. The 
 higher they were, the more he considered it his duty to 
 discuss and examine the opinions they proclaimed to 
 the public. In doing so he felt he was vindicating the 
 rights of the humblest curate in the Church, or defend 
 ing those who could not defend themselves from the at 
 tacks of men in high stations, who often made them in 
 places where they could not be otherwise refuted. 
 
 "Whether he did not render a greater service to the 
 public and to his profession by this intrepid conduct, 
 than he could have done by the most respectful and sub 
 missive silence, it is for others to determine ; but his 
 fearless assertion of what he conceived to be the right, 
 is perfectly consistent with the most modest estimate of 
 his own merits. 
 
 * Many as I have told, how many more I have been obliged to sup 
 press, from reasons easily understood ! Author. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 291 
 
 " Sydney Smitli thought it right and honest to act 
 openly, and avow whatever he wrote, without regard to 
 any personal consequence that might result to himself. 
 There are some men who, if a serious truth is to be 
 supported or enforced, insist that every argument or il 
 lustration should be equally solemn and grave. They 
 forget that a person of Sydney Smith s powers would 
 be but half an ally if he did not employ the wit and hu 
 mor with which he was endowed to enforce truth or ex 
 pose pretension. Such men would prefer the dullest ar 
 gument to the most withering and convincing exposure 
 of a fallacy. 
 
 "A foreigner, on one occasion, indulging in skeptical 
 doubts of the existence of an- overruling Providence in 
 his presence, Sydney, who had observed him evidently 
 well satisfied with his repast, said, You must admit 
 there is great genius and thought in that dish. Ad 
 mirable! he replied ; nothing can be better. May I 
 then ask, are you prepared to deny the existence of the 
 cook ? Many anecdotes equally characteristic might be 
 furnished by his old friends, but I fear to repeat what 
 you may have already been told, and have merely hinted 
 at some traits of Sydney s character known only to his 
 most intimate friends." 
 
 The following is an extract from some lines written 
 on receiving the present of my father s garden-chair, after 
 his death, from the Rector of Combe Florey, by a friend 
 and neighbor : 
 
 o 
 
 " Thanks for thy gift ! twill ofttimcs bring to mind 
 A friend who was the friend of human kind ; 
 A man who had no equal among men, 
 Whene er he chose to wield the moral pen. 
 For wit, truth, genius, courage, all conspired 
 To make (and made at last) a sage inspired, 
 Whom wise men loved, and even wits admired. 
 
292 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 " Whate er was true, he loved ; but all pretense, 
 Pride without merit, learning without sense, 
 Small niggard piety, which deals in tracts, 
 And substitutes cant words for Christian acts, 
 He hated. And most holy war did wage 
 With each Tartuffe, who shamed our English stage. 
 
 " Peace to his spirit ! many a year will run 
 Into oblivion ere another sun 
 Like his will rise and lend the world its light. 
 Honor to him ! to thee thanks, and good night !" 
 
 I find some lines in a letter from Lady Carlisle (one 
 of the kindest and warmest of my father s friends) to my 
 mother, written soon after his death, on passing within 
 sight of Foston. They have been carefully preserved by 
 my mother ; and though meant for no eye but hers, my 
 father so valued any proof of Lady Carlisle s regard, that 
 I must not omit them here. 
 
 " Is that the roof, to friendship dear, 
 
 Where Genius once, with matchless ray, 
 Illumined all within its sphere, 
 
 And all was brilliant, all was gay ? 
 
 " Yes ! there the joyous laugh was raised, 
 
 And converse held with social glee. 
 Sydney, by wits and sages praised, 
 
 Shall still be loved and mourned by me." 
 
 I might, to these little tributes of affection which I 
 have already given, add such a list of mourners for his 
 loss (whose letters have all been preserved by my poor 
 mother*), as would claim respect for any life, and do 
 honor to any grave. But if I have not already suc- 
 
 * After my father s death, it was the great comfort and occupation 
 of my mother s life to collect and arrange my father s letters and pa 
 pers, for the purpose of this Memoir, and her labors have contributed 
 not a little toward its accomplishment. In one of her letters to me, 
 my mother says, " You know the great occupation of my life has been 
 to collect materials for some future memorial of my noble-hearted hus 
 band." And again, "Time goes rapidly on; I tremble at each day s 
 delay. To have this matter unsettled is the only thing that makes death 
 terrible." 
 
MEMOIR OF THE EEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 293 
 
 ceeded in showing by his actions how worthy he was 
 to be respected in life, and to be mourned in death, I 
 fear I shall derive little aid even from such names, and 
 might run the risk of wearying my readers. I will 
 therefore go on with what little remains to tell of my 
 narrative. 
 
 My father " was sitting at breakfast one morning in 
 the library at Combe Florey," said Mrs. Marcet, who 
 was staying with us, "when a poor woman came, beg 
 ging him to christen a new-born infant, without loss 
 of time, as she thought it was dying. Mr. Smith in 
 stantly quitted the breakfast-table for this purpose, and 
 went off to her cottage. On his return, we inquired 
 in what state he had left the poor babe. Why, said 
 he, < I first gave it a dose of castor-oil, and then I 
 christened it ; so now the poor child is ready for either 
 world. " 
 
 I long to give some sketch of these breakfasts, and 
 the mode of life at Combe Florey, where there were 
 often assembled guests that would have made any table 
 agreeable any where ; but it would be difficult to con 
 vey an adequate idea of the beauty, gayety, and happi 
 ness of the scene in which they took place, or the charm 
 that he infused into the society assembled round his 
 breakfast-table. The room, an oblong, was, as I have 
 already described, surrounded on three sides by books, 
 and ended in a bay-window opening into the garden : not 
 brown, dark, dull-looking volumes, but all in the bright 
 est bindings ; for he carried his system of furnishing for 
 gayety even to the dress of his books. 
 
 He would come down into this long, low room in 
 the morning like a "giant refreshed to run his course," 
 bright and happy as the scene around him. " Thank 
 God for Combe Florey!" he would exclaim, throwing 
 himself into his red arm-chair, and looking round; "I 
 
294 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 feel like a bridegroom in the honeymoon." And in 
 truth I doubt if ever bridegroom felt so joyous, or at 
 least made others feel so joyous, as he did on these 
 occasions. "King the bell, Saba;" the usual refrain, 
 by-the-by, in every pause, for he contrived to keep 
 every body actively employed around him, and nobody 
 ever objected to be so employed. "King the bell, 
 
 Saba." Enter the servant, D . "D , glorify 
 
 the room."* This meant that the three Venetian win 
 dows of the bay were to be flung open, displaying the 
 garden on every side, and letting in a blaze of sun 
 shine and flowers. D glorifies the room with the 
 
 utmost gravity, and departs. "You would not believe 
 it," he said, "to look at him now, but D is a re 
 formed Quaker. Yes, he quaked, or did quake ; his 
 brother quakes still: but D - is now thoroughly 
 orthodox. I should not like to be a Dissenter in his 
 way ; he is to be one of my vergers at St. Paul s some 
 
 day. Lady B calls them my virgins. She asked 
 
 me the other day, Pray, Mr. Smith, is it true that you 
 walk down St. Paul s with three virgins holding silver 
 pokers before you ? I shook my head, and looked very 
 grave, and bid her come and see. Some enemy of the 
 Church, some Dissenter, had clearly been misleading 
 her." 
 
 " There, now," sitting down at the breakfast-table, 
 " take a lesson of economy. You never breakfasted in 
 a parsonage before, did you ? There, you see, my china 
 is all white, so if broken can always be renewed; the 
 
 * On reading this passage to two very sensible persons, I was advised 
 to omit this expression, as it might give offense. At first I did so, but 
 on reflection I am inclined to say, with our old English motto, " Honi 
 soit qui mal y pense !" In my father s mouth it meant only "Let in 
 the glorious light and the beautiful world ;" and instead of any thing ir 
 reverent, his heart was overflowing with gratitude and happiness, and he 
 thanked God with his whole heart for the beautiful world in which he 
 had placed him. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 2iC> 
 
 same with my plates at dinner: did you observe my 
 plates ? every one a different pattern, some of them 
 sweet articles ; it was a pleasure to dine upon such a 
 plate as I had last night. It is true, Mrs. Sydney, who 
 is a great herald, is shocked because some of them have 
 the arms of a royal duke or a knight of the garter on 
 them, but that does not signify to me. My plan is to 
 go into a china-shop and bid them show me every plate 
 they have which does n-ot cost more than half a crown ; 
 you see the result." 
 
 "I think breakfasts so pleasant because no one is 
 conceited before one o clock." 
 
 Mrs. Marcet admired his ham. " Oh," said he, " our 
 hams are the only true hams ; yours are Shems and 
 Japhets." 
 
 Some one speaking of the character and writings of 
 Mr. : " Yes, I have the greatest possible respect for 
 him ; but, from his feeble voice, he always reminds me 
 of a liberal blue-bottle fly. He gets his head down and 
 his hand on your button, and pours into you an uninter 
 rupted stream of Whiggism in a low buzz. I have 
 known him intimately, and conversed constantly with 
 him for the last thirty years, and give him credit for the 
 most enlightened mind, and a genuine love of public vir 
 tue ; but I can safely say that during that period I have 
 never heard one single syllabic he has uttered." 
 
 Mrs. Marcet complaining she could not sleep: " I can 
 furnish you, "he said, "with a perfect soporific. I have 
 published two volumes of sermons ; take them to bed 
 with you. I recommended them once to Blanco White, 
 and before the third page he was fast." 
 
 " This is the only sensible spring I remember (1840): 
 it is a real March of intellect." 
 
 " If I were to select a figure to go through life with, 
 I think it should be Windhain s figure and Canning s 
 face." 
 
296 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 " I make it a rale to endure no evil that can be reme 
 died. D laughs at me for my inventions and con 
 trivances ; "but what is the consequence of his indolence ? 
 I go to his house, and find him sitting in his arm-chair, 
 waging war against human existence, and a prey to blue- 
 devils : and all because his pens won t write, his ink 
 won t mark, his sealing-wax won t melt, his fires won t 
 burn, his blinds won t pull up or down, and his windows 
 and doors won t open and shut evils which a nail, a 
 drop of water, or five minutes exertion would have re 
 medied." 
 
 On seeing a very foolish letter by an acquaintance in 
 the newspapers: "There! read that! what incredible 
 folly ! You pity a man who is lame or blind, but you 
 never pity him for being a fool, which is often a much 
 greater misfortune." 
 
 Miss Fox was mentioned, who was at that time at 
 Bowood : " Oh, she is perfection ; she always gives me 
 the idea of an aged angel." 
 
 Some one speaking of the utility of a measure, and 
 
 quoting s opinion: "Yes, he is of the Utilitarian 
 
 school. That man is so hard you might drive a broad- 
 wheeled wagon over him, and it would produce no im 
 pression ; if you were to bore holes in him with a gim 
 let, I am convinced sawdust would come out of him. 
 That school treat mankind as if they were mere ma 
 chines ; the feelings or affections never enter into their 
 calculations. If every thing is to be sacrificed to utility, 
 why do you bury your grandmother at all? why don t 
 you cut her into small pieces at once, and make porta 
 ble soup of her ? 
 
 " By-the-by, talking of portable soup, my great neigh 
 bor, Lord I) , found it necessary to look a little into 
 
 his establishment ; and the first discovery he made was 
 that his cook had for some years been contracting to fur- 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 297 
 
 nisli the navy with portable soup, not made of grand 
 mothers, but at his expense." 
 
 k I always say to young people, Beware of careless 
 ness, no fortune will stand it long ; you arc on the high 
 road to ruin, the moment you think yourself rich enough 
 to Tbe careless." 
 
 Speaking of education: "Never teach false morality. 
 How exquisitely absurd to tell girls that beauty is of no 
 value, dress of no use ! Beauty is of value ; her whole 
 prospects and happiness in life may often depend upon 
 a new gown or a becoming bonnet, and if she has five 
 grains of common sense she will find this out. The 
 great thing is to teach her their just value, and that 
 there must be something better under the bonnet than 
 a pretty face for real happiness. But never sacrifice 
 truth." 
 
 Talking of beauty of style : " What so beautiful as 
 that of the Bible ? what poetry in its language and ideas ! " 
 and taking it down from the bookcase behind him, he 
 read, with his beautiful voice, and in his most impressive 
 manner, several of his favorite passages ; among others I 
 remember "Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, 
 and honor the face of an old man;" and part of that most 
 beautiful of Psalms, the 139th: "O Lord, thou hast 
 searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my down- 
 sitting and mine uprising ; thou understandest my thought 
 afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, 
 and art acquainted with all my ways. . . . Whither 
 shall I go from thy spirit ? or whither shall I flee from 
 thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art 
 there ; if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. 
 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the ut 
 termost parts of the sea ; even there shall thy hand lead 
 me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely 
 the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light 
 
298 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 about me ; yea, the darkness liideth not from tliee ; but 
 the night sliineth as the day ; the darkness and the light 
 are both alike to thee" putting the Bible again on the 
 shelf. 
 
 "There is one thing I feel very grateful to my father 
 for having taught me the habit of immediately hunting 
 out any object 1 found myself ignorant of." " Remem 
 ber that, F - (addressing one of his grandsons) ; I 
 have found it most useful : never submit to be ignorant 
 when you have knowledge at your elbow." 
 
 Talking of punishments : " Ah 1 that is all very well ; 
 but who punishes the bore, let me ask? There is no 
 social crime committed with such impunity." 
 
 "Have you never observed what a dislike servants 
 have to any thing cheap ? they hate saving their masters 
 money. I tried this experiment with great success the 
 other day. Finding we consumed a great deal of soap, 
 I sat down in my thinking-chair, and took the soap ques 
 tion into consideration, and I found reason to suspect 
 that we were using a very expensive article, where a 
 much cheaper one would serve the purpose better. I or 
 dered half-a-dozen pounds of both sorts, but took the pre 
 caution of changing the papers on which the prices were 
 marked, before giving theni: into the hands of Betty. 
 Well, Betty, which soap do you find washes best? 
 Oh, please sir, the dearest, in the blue paper ; it makes 
 a lather as well again as the other. Well, Betty, you 
 shall always have it, then; and thus the unsuspecting 
 Betty saved me some pounds a year, and washed the 
 clothes better." 
 
 "Xo; very few people ever were so wise as Aber- 
 crombie looked, as Fox said of Thurlow." 
 
 On his little granddaughter running up to kiss him : 
 "Children are excellent physiognomists, and soon dis 
 cover their real friends. Luttrcll calls them all lima- 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 290 
 
 tics ; and so, in fact, they arc. What is childhood but 
 a series of happy delusions ?" 
 
 " It is lamentable to sec how ignorant the poor are. 
 I do not mean of reading and writing, Lut about the 
 common affairs of life. They are as helpless as chil 
 dren in all difficulties. Nothing would be so useful as 
 some short and cheap book, to instruct them what to 
 do, to whom to go, and to give them a little advice ; I 
 mean, mere practical advice. I have begun something 
 of this sort for my parishioners ; here it is. 
 
 " Advice to Parishioners. 
 
 " If you begin stealing a little, you will go on from 
 little to much, and soon become a regular thief; and 
 then you will be hanged, or sent over seas to Botany 
 Bay. And give me leave to tell you, transportation is 
 no joke. Up at five in the morning, dressed in a jacket 
 half blue half yellow, chained on to another person like 
 two dogs, a man standing over you with a great stick, 
 weak porridge for breakfast, bread and water for dinner, 
 boiled beans for supper, straw to lie upon ; and all this 
 for thirty years ; and then you are hanged there by or 
 der of the governor, without judge or jury. All this is 
 very disagreeable, and you had far better avoid it by 
 making a solemn resolution to take nothing which does 
 not belong to you. 
 
 "Never sit in wet clothes. Off with them as soon as 
 you can : no constitution can stand it. Look at Jackson, 
 who lives next door to the blacksmith ; he was the stron 
 gest man in the parish. Twenty different times I warned 
 him of his folly in wearing wet clothes. He pulled off his 
 hat and smiled, and was very civil, but clearly seemed 
 to think it all old woman s nonsense. He is now, as you 
 see, bent double with rheumatism, is living upon parish 
 allowance, and scarcely able to crawl from pillar to post. 
 
300 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 " Off with your liat when you meet a gentleman. 
 What does it cost? Gentlemen notice these things, 
 are offended if the civility is not paid, and pleased if 
 it is ; and what harm does it do you ? When first I 
 came to this parish, Squire Tempest wanted a postillion. 
 John Barton was a good, civil fellow ; and in thinking 
 over the names of the village, the Squire thought of 
 Barton, remembered his constant civility, sent for one 
 of his sons, made him postillion, then coachman, then 
 bailiff, and he now holds a farm under the Squire of 
 500 per annum. Such things are constantly happen 
 ing. 
 
 " I will have no swearing. There is pleasure in a 
 pint of ale, but what pleasure is there in an oath ? A 
 swearer is a low, vulgar person. Swearing is fit for a 
 tinker or a razor-grinder, not for an honest laborer in 
 my parish. 
 
 " I must positively forbid all poaching ; it is absolute 
 ruin to yourself and your family. In the end you are 
 sure to be detected a hare in one pocket and a pheas 
 ant in the other. How are you to pay ten pounds ? 
 You have not tenpence beforehand in the world. Dan 
 iel s breeches are unpaid for ; you have a hole in your 
 hat, and want a new one ; your wife, an excellent wo 
 man, is about to lie in and you are, all of a sudden, 
 called upon by the Justice to pay ten pounds. I shall 
 never forget the sight of poor Cranford, hurried to Taun- 
 ton Jail ; a wife and three daughters on their knees to 
 the Justice, who was compelled to do his duty, and com 
 mit him. The next day, beds, chairs, and clothes sold, 
 to get the father out of jail. Out of jail he came ; but 
 the poor fellow could not bear the sight of his naked 
 cottage, and to see his family pinched with hunger. 
 You know how he ended his days. Was there a dry 
 eye in the church-yard when he was buried ? It was a 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 301 
 
 lesson to poachers. It is indeed a desperate and fool 
 ish trade. Observe, I am not defending the game-laws, 
 but I am advising you, as long as the game-laws exist, 
 to fear them, and to take care that you and your fami 
 ly are not crushed by them. And then, smart, stout 
 young men hate the game-keeper, and make it a point 
 of courage and spirit to oppose him. Why ? The 
 game-keeper is paid to protect the game, and he would 
 be a very dishonest man if he did not do his duty. 
 What right have you to bear malice against him for 
 this ? After all, the game in justice belongs to the 
 land-owners, who feed it ; and not to you, who have no 
 land at all, and can feed nothing. 
 
 "I don t like that red nose, and those blear eyes, 
 and that stupid, downcast look. You are a drunkard. 
 Another pint, and one pint more ; a glass of gin and 
 water, rum and milk, cider and pepper, a glass of pep 
 permint, and all the beastly fluids which drunkards pour 
 down their throats. It is very possible to conquer it, 
 if you will but be resolute. I remember a man in Staf 
 fordshire who was drunk every day of his life. Every 
 farthing he earned went to the ale-house. One evening 
 he staggered home, and found at a late hour his wife 
 sitting alone, and drowned in tears. He was a man 
 not deficient in natural affections ; he appeared to be 
 struck with the wretchedness of the woman, and with 
 some eagerness asked her why she was crying. I don t 
 like to tell you, James, she said, but if I must, I must ; 
 and truth is, my children have not touched a morsel of 
 any thing this blessed day. As for me, never mind me ; 
 I must leave you to guess how it has fared with me. 
 But not one morsel of food could I beg or buy for those 
 children that lie on that bed before you ; and I am sure, 
 James, it is better for us all we should die, and to my 
 soul T wish we were dead. Dead! said James, start- 
 
302 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 ing tip as if a flash of lightning had darted upon him ; 
 dead, Sally ! You, and Mary, and the two young 
 ones dead ? Look ye, my lass, you see what I am now 
 like a brute. I have wasted your substance the 
 curse of God is upon me 1 am drawing near to the pit 
 of destruction but there s an end; I feel there s an 
 end. Give me that glass, wife. She gave it him with 
 astonishment and fear. He turned it topsy-turvy ; and, 
 striking the table with great violence, and flinging him 
 self on his knees, made a most solemn and affecting vow 
 to God of repentance and sobriety. From that moment 
 to the day of his death he drank no fermented liquor, 
 but confined himself entirely to tea and water.* I nev 
 er saw so sudden and astonishing a change. His looks 
 became healthy, his cottage neat, his children were clad, 
 his wife was happy ; and twenty times the poor man 
 and his wife, with tears in their eyes, have told me the 
 story, and blessed the evening of the fourteenth of March, 
 the day of James s restoration, and have shown me the 
 glass he held in his hand when he made the vow of so 
 briety. It is all nonsense about not being able to work 
 without ale, and gin, and cider, and fermented liquors. 
 Do lions and cart-horses drink ale ? It is mere habit. 
 If you have good nourishing food, you can do very well 
 without ale. Nobody works harder than the Yorkshire 
 people, and for years together there are many Yorkshire 
 laborers who never taste ale. I have no objection, you 
 will observe, to a moderate use of ale, or any other liq 
 uor you can afford to purchase. My objection is, that 
 you can not afford it ; that every penny you spend at 
 the ale-house comes out of the stomachs of the poor 
 children, and strips off the clothes of the wife. 
 
 " My dear little Nanny, don t believe a word he says. 
 He merely means to ruin and deceive you. You have 
 
 * A fact. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 8o;t 
 
 a plain answer to give : "When I am axed in the church, 
 and the parson has read the service, and all about it is 
 written down in the book, then I will listen to your non 
 sense, and not before. Am not I a Justice of the 
 Peace, and have not I had a hundred foolish girls brought 
 before me, who have all come with the same story ? 
 Please, your Worship, he is a false man ; he promised 
 me marriage over and over again. I confess I have often 
 wished for the power of hanging these rural lovers. 
 But what use is my wishing? All that can be done 
 with the villain is to make him pay half a crown a week, 
 and you are handed over to the poor-house, and to in 
 famy. Will no example teach you? Look to Mary 
 Willct three years ago the handsomest and best girl 
 in the village, now a slattern in the poor-house ! Look 
 at Harriet Dobson, who trusted in the promises of James 
 Harefield s son, and, after being abandoned by him, went 
 away in despair with a party of soldiers ! How can you 
 be such a fool as to surrender your character to the stu 
 pid flattery of a plowboy ? If the evening is pleasant, 
 and birds sing, and flowers bloom, is that any reason 
 why you are to forget God s Word, the happiness of your 
 family, and your own character? What is a woman 
 worth without character? A profligate carpenter, or a 
 debauched watchmaker, may gain business from their 
 skill ; but how is a profligate woman to gain her bread V 
 Who will receive her? 1 
 
 "But this is enough of my parish advice." 
 "Have you observed that nothing can be done in 
 England without a dinner? When first I came to 
 Bristol, I found it was dinner all the day. Not the 
 appetite of an alderman could have got through them, 
 or the stomach of an ostrich digested them. I exam 
 ined into their objects, and found the expenses of the 
 o-reator part exceeded the sum collected for the charities 
 
304 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 for whose benefit we dined. All such I refused to dine 
 at, or subscribe to, and I dare say was considered a 
 monster in consequence. However, it is quite true what 
 Frere says : An Englishman opens, like an oyster, with 
 a knife and fork ; one never knows what is in a man till 
 these two agents are in active employment. 
 
 "When I hear the rustics yawn audibly at my ser 
 mons, it reminds me of Lord Ellenborough, who, on 
 
 seeing Lord g a P e during his own long and dull 
 
 speech, said, Well, I must own there is some taste in 
 that, but is not Lord - rather encroaching on our 
 privileges ? 
 
 " It is a curious fact that the peasantry in England 
 apply the masculine and feminine gender to things, like 
 the French. My schoolmistress here, a very respecta 
 ble young woman, hurt her leg. I inquired how she 
 was, the other day ; she answered, He was very bad ; 
 he gave her a deal of trouble at night. I inquired who, 
 in some surprise ; and found it was her leg. If I com 
 plain of want of punctuality, the servants say, * Tis long 
 of the clock, sir. She lias gone quite wrong ; she s al 
 ways going wrong. 
 
 "Some of the words used by the peasantry are very 
 expressive : insense, for example, is to get the sense into 
 a man. Well, John, I sometimes say, have you in- 
 sensed that man ? Yes, your honor ; and he teld me 
 he could na understand your honor na more than if ye 
 were a Frenchman. " 
 
 Some one mentioned that a young Scotchman, who 
 had been lately in the neighborhood, was about to 
 marry an Irish widow, double his age and of consider 
 able dimensions. "Going to marry her!" he exclaim 
 ed, bursting out laughing; "going to marry her! im 
 possible ! you mean, a part of her : he could not marry 
 her all himself. It would be a case, not of bigamy, but 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 305 
 
 trigamy; the neighborhood or the magistrates should 
 interfere. There is enough of her to furnish wives for 
 a whole parish. One man many her ! it is monstrous. 
 You might people a colony with her ; or give an assem 
 bly with her ; or perhaps take your morning s walk 
 round her, always provided there were frequent resting- 
 places, and you were in rude health. I once was rash 
 enough to try walking round her before breakfast, but 
 only got half-way and gave it up exhausted. Or you 
 might read the Eiot Act and disperse her ; in short, you 
 might do any thing with her but marry her." "Oh, 
 Mr. Sydney!" said a yaung lady, recovering from the 
 general laugh, " did you make all that yourself?" " Yes, 
 Lucy," throwing himself back in his chair and shaking 
 with laughter, " all myself, child ; all my own thunder. 
 Do you think, when I am about to make a joke, I send 
 for my neighbors C. and G., or consult the clerk and 
 church- wardens upon it ? But let us go into the gar 
 den ;" and, all laughing till we cried, without hats or 
 bonnets, we sallied forth out of his glorified window into 
 the garden. 
 
 Opposite was a beautiful bank with a hanging wood 
 of fine old beech and oak, on the summit of which pre 
 sented themselves, to our astonished eyes, two don 
 keys, with deer s antlers fastened on their heads, which 
 ever and anon they shook, much wondering at their 
 horned honors ; while their attendant donkey-boy, in 
 Sunday garb, stood grinning and blushing at their 
 side. "There, Lady- ! you said the only thing 
 this place wanted to make it perfect was deer ; what 
 do you say now ? I have, you see, ordered my game 
 keeper to drive my deer into the most picturesque 
 point of view. Excuse their long ears, a little peculiar 
 ity belonging to parsonic deer. Their voices, too, are 
 singular ; but we do our best for you, and you are too 
 
300 MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 true a friend of the Church to mention our defects." 
 All this, of course, amidst shouts of laughter, while his 
 own merry laugh might Ibe heard above us all, ringing 
 through the valley, and making the very echoes laugh 
 in chorus. 
 
 Then wandering on a little further, his black crutch- 
 stick in his hand, and his white hairs blown about by 
 the soft Somersetshire wind: "It must be admitted," 
 said he, "if the mind vegetates, the body rejoices, in 
 the country. What an air this is ! Our climate is so 
 mild, that myrtles and geraniums stand out all the 
 winter ; and the effects of it on the human constitution 
 
 are such, that Lady , a model of female virtue, 
 
 who never gave that excellent baronet, her husband, a 
 moment s anxiety, declared to me with a deep sigh, 
 after a week s residence here, that she must go, for she 
 felt all her principles melting away under its influence. 
 Some of my Scotch friends, it is true, complain that it 
 is too enervating ; but they are but northern barbarians, 
 after all, and like to breathe their air raw. We civilized 
 people of the south prefer it cooked." 
 
 On observing some of the autumn crocus in flower, 
 he stopped: "There!" he said, "who would guess the 
 virtue of that little plant ? But I find the power of 
 colchicum so great, that if I feel a little gout coming on, 
 I go into the garden, and hold out my toe to that plant, 
 and it gets well directly. I never do more without orders 
 from head-quarters. Oh ! w r hen I have the gout, I feel 
 as if I was walking oil my eyeballs." 
 
 Going a few steps further: "There, now lift your 
 eyes, and tell me where another parsonage-house in 
 England has such a view as that to boast of. What 
 can Pall Mall or Piccadilly produce to rival it ? The 
 church, too, which you see ; it must be a satisfaction 
 to your ladyship to find yourself so near the church. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 307 
 
 When first I came here, all that view was shut out by 
 trees. I saw at one glance what was to Tbe done. I 
 called for Jack Spratt, my carpenter, and his hatchet. 
 Saba was in tears, Mrs. Sydney in hysterics, all the 
 family in despair ; but I hardened my heart, Jack 
 Spratt cut vigorously, at every stroke the view became 
 more lovely, and now the whole family are converts and 
 deny the tears." 
 
 "Did you say a Quaker baby? Impossible! there 
 is no such thing ; there never was ; they are always 
 born broad-brimmed and in full quake. . . . Well, all 
 I can say is, I never saw one ; and what is still more 
 remarkable, I never met with any one who had. Do 
 you believe in it ? Lady Morley does not. Have you 
 heard the report that they arc fed on drab-colored pap ? 
 It must be this that gives them their beautiful complex 
 ion. I have a theory about them and bluecoat boys, 
 which I will tell you some day." 
 
 "Yes, it requires a long apprenticeship to speak well 
 in the House of Commons. It is the most formidable 
 ordeal in the world. Few men have succeeded who en 
 tered it late in life ; Jeffrey is perhaps the best excep 
 tion. Bobus used to say that there was more sense 
 and good taste in the whole House, than in any one 
 individual of w^hich it was composed." 
 
 " We are told, Let not the sun go down on your 
 wrath. This, of course, is best ; but, as it generally 
 does, 1 would add, Never act or write till it has done so. 
 This rule has saved me from many an act of folly. It is 
 wonderful what a different view we take of the same 
 event four-and-twenty hours after it has happened." 
 
 " Yes, I think the Duke of- - wore his rank most 
 gracefully. I have heard that lie was once mounting 
 his horse, in company with the Archbishop of York, 
 and desired the groom to let go the roin. The groom 
 
308 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 stupidly retained it. The nobleman snatched it with 
 some violence, and, riding off, called him a fool. He 
 had hardly proceeded a hundred yards, when he stopped, 
 saying, Why did I call that man a fool ? I dare say 
 he is not so great a fool as I am. He instantly turned 
 his horse, galloped after the man, arid made his peace 
 with a kind word and half a crown." 
 
 This pretty trait reminds me of what I have not 
 unfrequently seen in my father, and think I may men 
 tion here ; for though it is not the part of a daughter to 
 reveal faults, yet a fault nobly repaired or repented of, 
 adds to the respect and interest which a character in 
 spires. My father was by nature quick and hasty, yet 
 he always struggled against it ; made many regulations 
 to avoid exciting such feelings ; and when he did give 
 way, it often excited my admiration to see him gradu 
 ally subduing his chafed spirit, and to observe his dis 
 satisfaction with himself till he had humbled himself 
 and made peace, it mattered not with whom, groom or 
 child. He could not bear the reproaches of his own 
 heart. 
 
 "In this hard, rough, every-day working world, the 
 object of education should not be, as it so often is, to 
 excite and sharpen the acute feelings of a young person, 
 but to calm and blunt them ; preserving only those 
 warm and generous feelings which give strength and 
 courage to perform the great duties of life." 
 
 " Once, when talking with Lord - on the subject 
 of Bible names, I could not remember the name of one 
 of Job s daughters. Kezia, said he immediately. 
 Surprised, I congratulated him upon being so well read 
 in Bible lore. 4 Oh! said he, my three greyhounds 
 are named after Job s daughters. " 
 
 "Ah!" said my father, on taking us round his farm, 
 " you will find it is a formidable undertaking to visit 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 309 
 
 an improver ; we spare you nothing, from the garret 
 to the pig-sty. It is like a Frenchman s explanation; 
 they never give you credit for knowing the common 
 est facts. C est toujours, Commengons au deluge. 
 My heart sinks when a Frenchman begins, Mon ami, 
 je vais vous expliquer tout cela. A fellow-traveler 
 once explained to me how to cut a sandwich, all the 
 way from Amiens to Paris." 
 
 "Yes, he was a clever and liberal man, but his wife 
 was a much more remarkable woman ; she had a truly 
 porcelain understanding." 
 
 "True, it is most painful not to meet the kindness 
 and affection you feel you have deserved and have a 
 right to expect from others ; but it is a mistake to com 
 plain of it, for it is of no use : you can not extort friend 
 ship with a cocked pistol." 
 
 On some one of his guests lamenting they had left 
 something behind: "Ah!" he said, "that would not 
 have happened if you had had a screaming gate." " A 
 screaming gate ? what do you mean, Mr. Smith ?" 
 "Yes, every body should have a screaming gate. We 
 all arrived once at a friend s house just before dinner, 
 hot, tired, and dusty a large party assembled and 
 found all the keys of our trunks had been left behind ; 
 since then I have established a screaming gate. We 
 never set out on our journey now without stopping at 
 a gate about ten minutes distance from the house, to 
 consider what we have left behind : the result has been 
 excellent." 
 
 "Nothing is so tiresome to me as a person who is 
 always talking Phoebuses ; I prefer plain honest dull 
 ness a thousand times." 
 
 " Cultivate the love of reading in a young person ; 
 it is an unceasing source of pleasure, and probably of 
 
310 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 " Yes, it was a mistake to write any more. He was 
 a one-book man. Some men have only one book in 
 them ; others, a library." 
 
 "I believe one of the Duke of Wellington s earliest 
 victories was at Eton, over my eldest brother, Bobus. 
 I have heard that the Duke reminded him of it on see 
 ing him accidentally in society many years after the 
 Spanish campaigns." 
 
 On meeting a young lady who had just entered the 
 garden, and shaking hands with her: "I must," he 
 said, "give you a lesson in shaking hands, I see. 
 There is nothing more characteristic than shakes of 
 the hand. I have classified them. Lister, when he 
 was here, illustrated some of them. Ask Mrs. Sydney 
 to show you his sketches of them when you go in. 
 There is the high official the body erect, and a rapid, 
 short shake, near the chin. There is the mortmain 
 the flat hand introduced into your palm, and hardly 
 conscious of its contiguity. The digital one finger 
 held out, much used by the high clergy. There is the 
 shaJcus rusticus, where your hand is seized in an iron 
 grasp, betokening rude health, warm heart, and distance 
 from the Metropolis ; but producing a strong sense of 
 relief on your part when you find your hand released 
 and your fingers unbroken. The next to this is the 
 retentive shake one which, beginning with vigor, pauses 
 as it were to take breath, but without relinquishing its 
 prey, and before you are aware begins again, till you 
 feel anxious as to the result, and have no shake left in 
 you. There are other varieties, but this is enough for 
 one lesson." 
 
 On examining some new flowers in the garden, a 
 beautiful girl, who was of the party, exclaimed, "Oh, 
 Mr. Sydney! this pea will never come to perfection." 
 "Permit me, then," said he, gently taking her hand 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 311 
 
 and walking toward the plant, "to lead perfection to 
 the pea." 
 
 " I think an office for marriage would be a very good 
 thing. I am sure I could marry people much better 
 than they marry themselves ; young people are so ab 
 surd, and accept and refuse for such foolish reasons. I 
 wish, Miss - , you would employ me ; I have suc 
 ceeded admirably already on two occasions : will you 
 take my advice?" " Oh yes, Mr. Sydney." "Well, 
 then, we will have a little private conversation, and 
 consider your case ; but now I must go and look after 
 my parish." 
 
 "After luncheon may I have the honor of driving 
 you round my wood ?" (addressing one of the ladies.) 
 "David, bring me my hat." And with his crutch- 
 stick in his hand, he sallied forth into his parish, where 
 he always seemed to carry comfort and pleasure into 
 every cottage he entered, for he brought what the poor 
 value so highly, and so seldom obtain sympathy. 
 He appeared, and was, interested in their concerns. 
 When he sat down in a cottage, nothing escaped his 
 eye: Solomon s Temple in rockwork the Prodigal Son 
 on the wall the old woman in the ingle-nook the 
 dirty, rosy infant on the floor, all came in for a share of 
 his notice. 
 
 " Why, John, I took you for a general officer at least, 
 in that new red waistcoat ; but, John, I think there is 
 a touch of pride in those brass buttons, don t you?" 
 "Na, your honor, there beant," said John, highly grati 
 fied, and grinning from car to ear. "Well, and how do 
 you do?" to the old woman. "Oh! the stuff your 
 honor sent did me a world of good." "Ah, I thought 
 it would reach the right spot. Dame ; well, then, you 
 must send the bottle for some more." 
 
312 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 "At this time," writes Mrs. Marcet, "he was in the 
 habit of spending half an hour every morning with a 
 young workman who was in the last stage of consump 
 tion ; part of that time, he said, was spent in pre 
 paring him for another world, and part in endeavoring 
 to render his last days in this as cheerful and as happy 
 as he could. He used to stop and talk to the children 
 of the village as he passed along the road. He always 
 kept a box of sugar-plums in his pocket for these occa 
 sions, and often some rosy-faced urchin was made happy 
 by sharing its contents, or obtaining a penny to buy a 
 tart. Let it be large and full of juice, Johnny, he 
 would say, so that it may run down both corners of the 
 mouth. Stopping another: What do you call me? 
 who am I? Why, we calls you the Parson Doctor. 
 Oh, you little rogue ! pinching his cheek smilingly, and 
 holding up his fist at him, I will send you a dose when 
 I go home. 
 
 "At last he returned, and presently might be heard 
 the cry of Jack Spratt! a few minutes after, Betty 
 Loch! (the garden- woman) ; then Bunch! 7 (now con 
 verted into a cook); then Annie Kay! Shortly after 
 he would come up into the drawing-room with a large 
 manuscript book in his hand, and, seating himself in an 
 arm-chair, look round upon us. What are you read 
 ing? The Life of Franklin. Oh, that is right. I 
 recommend the study of Franklin to all young people ; 
 he was a real philanthropist, a wonderful man. It has 
 been said, that it was honor enough to any one country 
 to have produced such a man as Franklin. I think all 
 young people should read the Spectator, too a paper a 
 day ; I always did. 
 
 "On Miss , and her friend Dr. s daughter 
 
 passing through the room, some one remarked what a 
 pretty contrast their different styles of beauty made. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 313 
 
 Yes, lie said, Miss - - reminds me of a youthful 
 Minerva; and her friend, as Dr. - s daughter, must 
 be, you know, the Venus de Medicis. 
 
 "Talking of Switzerland: Well, what are they do 
 ing now in the irritable little republic? They say a 
 change in the hour of shutting the gates convulsed the 
 whole canton of Geneva. Have they deposed M 
 yet ? You remember - s answer when they sent 
 him a decree that he could not be permitted to fire in 
 the republic? "Very well," said he, "it makes no sort 
 of difference to me ; I can very easily fire over the re 
 public. " 
 
 "Some one mentioning a marriage about to take 
 place : Why, it is like the union of an acid and an al 
 kali ; the result must be a tertium quid, or neutral 
 salt. 
 
 "What a beautiful thought (reading from a book in 
 his hand): a sunbeam passes through pollution unpol 
 luted. 
 
 " Ah! what female heart can withstand a red-coat? 
 I think this should be a part of female education ; it is 
 much neglected. As you have the rocking-horse to ac 
 custom them to ride, I would have military dolls in the 
 nursery, to harden their hearts against officers and red 
 coats. I found myself in company with some officers at 
 the country-house of a friend once; and as the repast 
 advanced, the colonel became very eloquent, and com 
 municated to us a military definition of vice and virtue. 
 "Vice, "he said, "was a d d cocked-tailed fellow; and 
 Virtue," said he (striking the table with his fist, to en 
 force the description), "was a fellow fenced about for 
 the good of the service." We all burst into such an 
 uncontrollable paroxysm of laughter, that I began to 
 fear the honest colonel might think it for the good of the 
 service to shoot us through the head ; so, for the good of 
 VOL. I, 
 
314 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 the Church, hastened to agree with him, and we parted 
 very good friends. 
 
 " Yes, Mr. has great good sense, but I never 
 
 met a manner more entirely without frill. 
 
 "Talking of Lord Denman: What a face he has! 
 how well he looks his part ! He is stamped by nature 
 for a Chief Justice. He is an honorable, high-minded 
 man. I have a great respect for him. 
 
 " I will explain to you, said Mr. D . Oh, pray 
 
 don t, my dear D , said Sydney laughing; I did 
 
 understand a little about the Scotch kirk before you un 
 dertook to explain it to me yesterday ; but now my 
 mind is like a London fog on the subject. 
 
 " But I came up to speak to Annie Kay. Where is 
 Annie Kay? King the bell for Annie Kay. Kay ap 
 peared. Bring me my medicine-book, Annie Kay. Kay 
 is my apothecary s boy, and makes up my medicines. 
 Kay appears with the book. I am a great doctor ; 
 would you like to hear some of my medicines ? Oh 
 yes, Mr. Sydney. There is the gentlejog, a pleasure 
 to take it the Bull-dog, for more serious cases Peter s 
 puke Heart s delight, the comfort of all the old women 
 in the village Rub-a-dub, a capital embrocation Dead- 
 stop, settles the matter at once Up-with-it-then needs 
 no explanation ; and so on. Now, Annie Kay, give Mrs. 
 Spratt a bottle of Rub-a-dub ; and to Mr. Coles a dose 
 of Dead-stop and twenty drops of laudanum. 
 
 "This is the house to be ill in (turning to us); in 
 deed every body who comes is expected to take a little 
 something ; I consider it a delicate compliment when my 
 guests have a slight illness here. We have contrivances 
 for every thing. Have you seen my patent armor? 
 No? Annie Kay bring my patent armor. Now, look 
 here : if you have a stiff neck or swelled face, here is this 
 sweet case of tin filled with hot water, and covered with 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 315 
 
 flannel, to put round your neck, and you are well direct 
 ly. Likewise, a patent tin shoulder, in case of rheuma 
 tism. There you see a stomach-tin, the greatest comfort 
 in life ; and lastly, here is a tin slipper, to be filled with 
 hot water, which you can sit with in the drawing-room, 
 should you come in chilled, without wetting your feet. 
 Come and see my apothecary s shop." 
 
 "We all went down stairs, and entered a room filled 
 entirely on one side with medicines, and on the other 
 with every description of groceries and household or 
 agricultural necessaries ; in the centre, a large chest, 
 forming a table, and divided into compartments for soap, 
 candles, salt, and sugar. 
 
 " Here you see, said he, every human want before 
 you: 
 
 * Man wants but little here below, 
 As beef, veal, mutton, pork, lamb, venison show ; 
 
 spreading out his arms to exhibit every thing, and laugh 
 ing. 4 Life is a difficult thing in the country, I assure 
 you, and it requires a good deal of forethought to steer 
 the ship, when you live twelve miles from a lemon. 
 " By-the-by, that reminds me of one of our greatest 
 
 domestic triumphs. Some years ago my friend C , 
 
 the arch epicure of the Northern Circuit, was dining with 
 me in the country. On sitting down to dinner, he turn 
 ed round to the servant, and desired him to look in his 
 great-coat pocket and he would find a lemon; "For," 
 he said, " I thought it likely you might have duck and 
 green-peas for dinner, and therefore thought it prudent, 
 at this distance from a town, to provide a lemon." I 
 turned round, and exclaimed, indignantly, "Bunch, bring 
 in the lemon-bag ! " and Bunch appeared with a bag con 
 taining a dozen lemons. He respected us wonderfully 
 after that. Oh, it is reported that he goes to bed with 
 concentrated lozenges of wild-duck, so as to have the 
 
316 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 taste constantly in his mouth when he wakes in the 
 night. 
 
 " Look here, this is a stomach-pump; you can t die 
 here. Bobus roared with laughter when I showed it to 
 him, but I saved my footman s life by it.* He swallow 
 ed as much arsenic as would have poisoned all the rats 
 in the House of Lords ; but I pumped lime-water into 
 him night and day for many hours at a time, and there 
 he is. This is my medical department. Saba used to 
 be my apothecary s boy before Dr. Holland carried her 
 off; Annie Kay is now promoted to it. 
 
 "We spent some time in examining the wonders of 
 the shop, as he called it ; he showing us all sorts of con 
 trivances and comforts for both rich and poor ; and, in 
 doing so, exhibiting at the same time that mixture of 
 sense, nonsense, forethought, and gayety so peculiar to 
 himself, and which gave a charm even to the details of a 
 grocer s shop. We then returned to the drawing-room : 
 in a short time he followed us up, with another book in 
 his hand. Mrs. Sydney, I find the cook wants yeast 
 and eggs. Yes, she has not been able to get any. 
 4 Why did you not write it down in my book, then ? I 
 always tell Mrs. Sydney, when she wants any thing, to 
 write it down in my book ; once down in my book, and 
 
 * Literally true. The man had a passion for dough, and, returning 
 hungry one night, found a lump of dough which had been prepared with 
 arsenic for the rats, left most improperly by the gardener on the kitchen 
 dresser ; and, indulging his passion, he devoured a considerable quantity 
 of it. The punishment was speedy ; my father was called up, and, on 
 hearing what had happened, put the stomach-pump instantly into use, 
 and, turning to his medical books, applied incessantly the proper reme 
 dies all night, till the arrival of the medical man in the morning. The 
 remaining dough was analyzed, and I am afraid to state from mem 
 ory the number of grains of arsenic he had swallowed. The medical 
 man said, nothing but the promptness of my father s remedies could 
 possibly have saved the poor man s life, which remained doubtful for 
 many days; and it was months before he recovered from its effects. 
 But he lived to show his gratitude to his master by his watchful and 
 tender care of him in his last illness. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 317 
 
 it is done directly. Look here, it is divided into differ 
 ent heads the carpenter, the blacksmith, the farm, the 
 sick, the house, etc., etc. ; that is the way to keep house 
 in the country. Every day I look through these wants, 
 and remedy them. Now, Mrs. Sydney, you want eggs 
 and yeast. I will mount the boys on the ponies, and 
 they shall scour the country forthwith, and you shall be 
 supplied with yeast and eggs till you cry, Hold ! hold ! 
 enough ! 
 
 "Then, looking round on us : I wish I could sew. 
 I believe one reason why women are so much more 
 cheerful, generally, than men, is because they can work, 
 and vary more their employments. Lady - - used to 
 teach her sons carpet-work. All men ought to learn to 
 sew. 
 
 " Speaking of manners as a part of education : Yes, 
 manners are often too much neglected; they are most 
 important to men, no less than to women. I believe the 
 English are the most disagreeable people under the sun ; 
 not so much because Mr. John Bull disdains to talk, as 
 that the respected individual has nothing to say, and be 
 cause he totally neglects manners. Look at a French 
 carter ; he takes off his hat to his neighbor carter, and 
 inquires after "la sante de madame," with a bow that 
 would not have disgraced Sir Charles Grandison ; and I 
 have often seen a French soubrette with a far better man 
 ner than an English duchess. Life is too short to get 
 over a bad manner ; besides, manners are the shadows 
 of virtue. 
 
 " It is astonishing the influence foolish apothegms 
 have upon the mass of mankind, though they are not un- 
 frequently fallacies. Here are a few I amused myself 
 with writing, long before Bentham s book on fallacies. 
 
318 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 ^ Fallacy I. Because I have gone through it, my son 
 
 shall go through it also. 9 
 
 "A man gets well pommeled at a public school; is 
 subject to every misery and every indignity which sev 
 enteen years of age can inflict upon nine and ten ; has 
 his eye nearly knocked out, and his clothes stolen and 
 cut to pieces ; and twenty years afterward, when he is a 
 chrysalis, and has forgotten the miseries of his grub state, 
 is determined to act a manly part in life, and says, I 
 passed through all that myself, and I am determined my 
 son shall pass through it as I have done ; and away goes 
 his bleating progeny to the tyranny and servitude of the 
 long chamber or the large dormitory. It would surely 
 be much more rational to say, Because I have passed 
 through it, I am determined my son shall not pass 
 through it ; because I was kicked for nothing, and cuff 
 ed for nothing, and fagged for every thing, I will spare 
 all these miseries to my child. It is not for any good 
 which may be derived from this rough usage ; that has 
 not been weighed and considered ; few persons are capa 
 ble of weighing its effects upon character ; but there is a 
 sort of compensatory and consolatory notion, that the 
 present generation (whether useful or not, no matter) are 
 not to come off scot-free, but are to have their share of 
 ill-usage ; as if the black eye and bloody nose which 
 Master John Jackson received in 1800, are less black and 
 bloody by the application of similar violence to similar 
 parts of Master Thomas Jackson, the son, in 1830. This 
 is not only sad nonsense, but cruel nonsense. The only 
 use to be derived from the recollection of what we have 
 suffered in youth, is a fixed determination to screen those 
 we educate from every evil and inconvenience, from sub 
 jection to which there are not cogent reasons for submit 
 ting. Can any thing be more stupid and preposterous 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 319 
 
 than tins concealed revenge upon the rising generation, 
 and latent envy lest they should avail themselves of the 
 improvements time has made, and pass a happier youth 
 than their fathers have done ? 
 
 "Fallacy II. ^ I have said I will do it, and /will do 
 
 it ; I will stick to my word. 
 
 " This fallacy proceeds from confounding resolutions 
 with promises. If you have promised to give a man a 
 guinea for a reward, or to sell him a horse or a field, you 
 must do it ; you are dishonest if you do not. But if you 
 have made a resolution to eat no meat for a year, and every 
 body about you sees that you are doing mischief to your 
 constitution, is it any answer to say, you have said so, 
 and you will stick to your word ? With whom have you 
 made the contract but with yourself? and if you and 
 yourself, the two contracting parties, agree to break the 
 contract, where is the evil, or who is injured ? 
 
 " Fallacy III. I object to half-measures it is nei* 
 ther one thing nor the other." 
 
 " But why should it be either one thing or the other? 
 why not something between both ? Why are half-meas 
 ures necessarily or probably unwise measures ? I am 
 embarrassed in my circumstances ; one of my plans is, to 
 persevere boldly in the same line of expense, and to trust 
 to the chapter of accidents for some increase of fortune ; 
 the other is, to retire entirely from the world, and to hide 
 myself in a cottage ; but I end with doing neither, and 
 take a middle course of diminished expenditure. I do 
 neither one thing nor the other, but possibly act wiser 
 than if I had done either. I am highly offended by the 
 conduct of an acquaintance; I neither overlook it en 
 tirely nor do I proceed to call him out ; I do neither, but 
 show him, by a serious change of manner, that T consider 
 
820 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 myself to have been ill-treated. I effect my object by 
 half-measures. I can not agree entirely with the Oppo 
 sition or the Ministry ; it may very easily happen that 
 my half-measures are wiser than the extremes to which 
 they are opposed. But it is a sort of metaphor which 
 debauches the understanding of foolish people ; and when 
 half-measures are mentioned, they have much the same 
 feeling as if they were cheated as if they had bargained 
 for a whole bushel and received but half. To act in ex 
 tremes is sometimes wisdom ; to avoid them is sometimes 
 wisdom ; every measure must be judged of by its own 
 particular circumstances. 7 
 
 " Did you ever hear my definition of marriage? It 
 is, that it resembles a pair of shears, so joined that they 
 can not be separated ; often moving in opposite directions, 
 yet always punishing any one who comes between them. 
 
 " Some one speaking of Macaulay : Yes, I take great 
 credit to myself; I always prophesied his greatness from 
 the first moment I saw him, then a very young and un 
 known man, on the Northern Circuit. There are no limits 
 to his knowledge, on small subjects as well as great ; he 
 he is like a book in breeches. . . . Yes, I agree, he is 
 certainly more agreeable since his return from India. 
 His enemies might perhaps have said before (though I 
 never did so) that he talked rather too much ; but now he 
 has occasional flashes of silence, that make his conver 
 sation perfectly delightful. But what is far better and 
 more important than all this is, that I believe Macaulay 
 to be incorruptible. You might lay ribbons, stars, gar 
 ters, wealth, titles, before him in vain. He has an hon 
 est, genuine love of his country, and the world could not 
 bribe him to neglect her interests. 
 
 " Talking of absence : The oddest instance of absence 
 of mind happened to me once in forgetting my own name. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 821 
 
 I knocked at a door in London ; asked, Is Mrs. B 
 
 at home? "Yes, sir; pray what name shall I say?" 
 I looked in the man s face astonished what name ? what 
 name ? ay, that is the question ; what is my name ? I 
 believe the man thought me mad ; but it is literally true, 
 that during the space of two or three minutes I had no 
 more idea who I was than if I had never existed. I did 
 not know whether I was a Dissenter or a layman. I felt 
 as dull as Sternhold and Hopkins. At last, to my great 
 relief, it flashed across me that I was Sydney Smith. 
 
 " I heard of a clergyman who went jogging along the 
 road till he came to a turnpike. "What is to pay?" 
 " Pay, sir ? for what ?" asked the turnpike-man. " Why, 
 for my horse, to be sure." "Your horse, sir? what 
 horse? Here is no horse, sir." "ISTo horse? God 
 bless me ! " said he suddenly, looking down between his 
 legs, "I thought I was on horseback." 
 
 " Lord Dudley was one of the most absent men I 
 think I ever met in society. One day he met me in the 
 street, and invited me to meet myself. "Dine with me 
 to-day ; dine with me, and I will get Sydney Smith to 
 meet you." I admitted the temptation he held out to 
 me, but said I was engaged to meet him elsewhere. An 
 other time, on meeting me, he turned back, put his arm 
 through mine, muttering, "I don t mind walking with 
 him a little way ; I ll walk with him as far as the end of 
 the street." As we proceeded together, W passed: 
 "That is the villain," exclaimed he, "who helped me 
 yesterday to asparagus, and gave me no toast." He very 
 nearly overset my gravity once in the pulpit. He was 
 sitting immediately under me, apparently very attentive, 
 when suddenly he took up his stick, as if he had been in 
 the House of Commons, and tapping on the ground with 
 it, cried out in a low but very audible whisper, "Hear! 
 hear ! hear ! " 
 
322 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 " By-the-by, it happened to be a charity sermon, 
 and I considered it a wonderful proof of my eloquence, 
 
 that it actually moved old Lady C to borrow a 
 
 sovereign from Dudley, and that he actually gave it 
 her, though knowing he must take a long farewell of it. 
 
 I was told afterward by Lady S that she rejoiced 
 
 to see it had brought "iron tears down Pluto s cheek" 
 (meaning by that her husband), certainly little given to 
 the melting mood in any sense. 
 
 " One speech, I remember, of Dudley s, gratified 
 me much. When I took leave of him, on quitting Lon 
 don to go into Yorkshire, he said to me, "You have 
 been laughing at me constantly, Sydney, for the last 
 seven years, and yet in all that time you never said a 
 single thing to me that I wished unsaid." This, I con 
 fess, pleased me.* . . . But I must go and scour the 
 country for yeast and eggs ; and off he went. 
 
 "After luncheon appeared at the door a low green 
 garden-chair, holding two, and drawn by the two don 
 keys already introduced ; but despoiled, to their obvious 
 relief, of their antlers. This was built by my village 
 carpenter, said he, but its chief merit is that it can 
 not be overturned. You need not fear my driving now ; 
 Mrs. Sydney will give me an excellent character. She 
 was very much afraid of me when I first took to driving 
 her in Yorkshire, but she raised my wages before the 
 first month. I am become an excellent whip, I assure 
 you. So saying, he mounted into the little vehicle, and 
 set off with his lady at a foot s pace, we following in 
 
 * It is most gratifying to find how often this delicate use of his great 
 powers of wit and sarcasm is alluded to by his friends and acquaintance 
 in the papers intrusted to me. I see it is said of him, in one of the 
 publications, at his death : " It is a rare distinction, but one which 
 ought to be Avritten on his monument, that while he wasted no gift of 
 those so liberally bestowed upon him, in ministering to the unworthy 
 pleasures of others, or in promoting his own selfish aggrandizement 
 as a wit he was more beloved than feared." 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 323 
 
 his train down the pretty valley into which the garden 
 opened, and through his wood walks, till we came out 
 upon a fine table-land above the house, commanding a 
 splendid view of the fine range of the Quantoc Hills on 
 the one side, and the rich Vale of Taunton on the other. 
 
 " There! said he, behold all the wonders of the 
 world beneath you ! can any thing be more exquisite, 
 more beautiful ? I often come up here to meditate. I 
 think of building a Gazebo here. The landscape is per 
 fect; it wants nothing but water and a wise man. I 
 think it was Jekyll who used to say, that "the further 
 he went west, the more convinced he felt that the wise 
 men did come from the east." We have not such an 
 article. You might ride from the rising up of the sun 
 until the going down thereof in these regions, and not 
 find one (I mean a real philosopher) whom you would 
 consult on the great affairs of life. We are thoroughly 
 primitive ; agriculture and agricultural tools are fifty 
 years behind the rest of England. 
 
 " A neighboring squire called on me the other day, 
 and informed me he had been reading a delightful book. 
 The fact of his having any literary pursuits at all was 
 equally agreeable and surprising to me, and I inquired 
 the subject of his studies. "Oh!" said he, "the Ara 
 bian Nights Entertainments ; I have just got it, and 
 I advise you to read it. I assure you, Mr. Smith, you 
 will find it a most amusing book." I thanked him, cor 
 dially agreed with him, but ventured to suggest that 
 the book was not entirely unknown to me. 
 
 " A joke goes a great way in the country. I have 
 known one last pretty well for seven years. I remem 
 ber making a joke after a meeting of the clergy, in 
 Yorkshire, where there was a Rev. Mr. Buckle, who 
 never spoke when I gave his health ; saying, that he 
 was a buckle without a tongue. Most persons within 
 
324 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 hearing laughed, but my next neighbor sat unmoved and 
 sunk in thought. At last, a quarter of an hour after we 
 had all done, he suddenly nudged me, exclaiming, "I 
 see now what you meant, Mr. Smith; you meant a joke." 
 " Yes," I said, " sir ; I believe I did." Upon which he 
 began laughing so heartily, that I thought he would 
 choke, and was obliged to pat him on the back. 
 
 " Talking of the singular degree of obstinacy of Miss 
 
 , on the most difficult and doubtful subjects, Oh ! 
 nothing but a surgical operation will avail ; it must be 
 cut out of her. 
 
 " I see you will not believe it, but I was once veiy 
 shy. Were you indeed, Mr. Smith? how did you 
 cure yourself? Why, it was not very long before I 
 made two very useful discoveries : first, that all man 
 kind were not solely employed in observing me (a belief 
 that all young people have) ; and next, that shamming 
 was of no use ; that the world was very clear-sighted, 
 and soon estimated a man at his just value. This cured 
 me, and I determined to be natural, and let the world 
 find me out. 
 
 " Oh yes I we both talk a great deal, but I don t 
 believe Macaulay ever did hear my voice, he exclaimed, 
 laughing. 4 Sometimes, when I have told a good story, 
 I have thought to myself, Poor Macaulay ! he will be 
 very sorry some day to have missed hearing that. 
 
 " 4 Other rules vary ; this is the only one you will 
 find without exception that, in this world, the salary 
 or reward is always in the inverse ratio of the duties 
 performed. 
 
 " Some one speaking of Mr. Grenville : I always 
 feel better for being in Mr. Grenville s company : it is 
 a beautiful sunset. You know the man in a regiment 
 who is selected to stand out before them as their model ; 
 he is called the fugleman. Now, Mr. Grenville I al- 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 325 
 
 ways consider as the fugleman of old age. He has 
 contrived to combine the freshness and greenness of 
 mind belonging to youth, with the dignity and wisdom 
 of age. 
 
 " Some one wondering at his praises of , and 
 
 telling Sydney that he often abused him : Oh ! said 
 my father, laughing, I know he does not spare me, 
 but that is no reason I should not praise him. At all 
 times I had rather be the ox than the butcher? 
 
 " Talking of Sheridan : Creevy told me, once, when 
 dining with Sheridan, after the ladies had departed, he 
 drew the chair to the fire, and confided to Creevy that 
 they had just had a fortune left them. "Mrs. Sheridan 
 and I," said he, "have made the solemn vow to each 
 other to mention it to no one, and nothing induces me 
 now to confide it to you but the absolute conviction that 
 Mrs. Sheridan is at this moment confiding it to Mrs. 
 Creevy up stairs." Soon after this I went to visit him 
 in the country with a large party ; he had taken a villa. 
 No expense was spared; a magnificent dinner, excellent 
 wines, but not a candle to be had to go to bed by in 
 the house ; in the morning no butter appeared, or was 
 to be procured for breakfast. He said, it was not a 
 butter country, he believed. But with Sheridan for 
 host, and the charm of his wit and conversation, who 
 cared for candles, butter, or any thing else? In the 
 evening there was a quarrel among the fiddlers, they 
 absolutely refusing to play with a blind fiddler, who 
 had unexpectedly arrived and insisted upon perform 
 ing with them. He turned out at last to be Mathews ; 
 his acting was quite inimitable. 
 
 " This brought us home again. Meeting at the door 
 his grandson, returning quite exhausted with a prodig 
 ious walk : Oh, foolish boy ! remember, head for glory, 
 feet for use. 
 
326 MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 "He then left us, and might be seen in his pretty 
 library ; sometimes in his arm-chair, seated, with books 
 of different kinds piled round him, some grave, some 
 gay, as his humor varied from hour to hour. And this 
 rapid change of mood, which I see his friend Mr. ]\Ioore 
 remarks upon, was one thing among many which gave 
 such freshness and raciness to his conversation: you 
 never could guess what would come next. At other 
 times seated at a large table in the bay-window, with 
 his desk before him on one end of this table a case, 
 something like a small deal music-stand, filled with 
 manuscript books on the other a large deal tray, filled 
 with a leaden ink-stand, containing ink enough for a 
 county ; a magnifying glass ; a carpenter s rule ; sev 
 eral large steel pens, which it was high treason to touch ; 
 a glass bowl full of shot and water, to clean these pre 
 cious pens ; and some red tape, which he called one 
 of the grammars of life ; a measuring line, and various 
 other articles, more useful than ornamental. At this 
 writing establishment, unique of its kind, he could turn 
 his mind with equal facility, in company or alone, to 
 any subject, whether of business, study, politics, in 
 struction, or amusement, and move the minds of his 
 hearers to laughter or tears at his pleasure." 
 
 He used to say he never considered his education 
 finished. To the last years of his life, he kept up his 
 classical studies, his reading and analysis of the Bible 
 (of which I find notes in his papers), and profane and 
 ecclesiastical history, from which he frequently put 
 down hints, some of which I have given. He was also 
 very fond of exercising himself in translating English 
 into French, which he spoke with great fluency, but did 
 not write correctly. He frequently interrupted these 
 pursuits by issuing forth into his gay garden, to take a 
 
MEMOIR OF THE EEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 327 
 
 stroll round it by himself, stopping at intervals, with his 
 crutch-stick swung behind him, as usual, as if medita 
 ting on the subject of his studies ; or sometimes sitting- 
 down on the lawn to watch or join in the gambols of his 
 little grandchildren, or to comfort them in some childish 
 affliction, in which the never-failing sugar-plum box was 
 found a most useful assistant ; sometimes in conference 
 with Jack Spratt or Annie Kay on some domestic con 
 cern. When we met at dinner, he was, if possible, more 
 agreeable than he had been during the day. " Sydney s 
 wit," as was happily said of him by Mr. Howard, "is 
 always fresh; you find the dew still on it." It is re 
 marked of him somewhere that "he had the power of 
 breathing the breath of life into a dead truism ; every 
 thing coming from his mind seemed to be original, even 
 when it was old." 
 
 One of his most intimate friends writes of him " It 
 is quite extraordinary how different every word that 
 drops from Sydney s pen is from any thing else in the 
 world. Individuality is stamped on every sentence, 
 and you can hardly read a page without coming to some 
 sentence that no other man could have written. It was 
 the same with his conversation." 
 
 It signified not what the materials were : I never re 
 member a dull dinner in his company.* He extracted 
 amusement from every subject, however hopeless. He 
 descended and adapted himself to the meanest capacity, 
 without seeming to do so ; he led without seeking to 
 lead ; he never sought to shine the light appeared be 
 cause he could not help it. Nobody felt excluded. He 
 had the happy art of always saying the best thing in 
 
 * My poor mother felt the change so strongly after his death that, on 
 dining out for the first time alone, she said, " Every body seemed to her 
 so unusually flat, that she thought they must all have suffered some se 
 vere loss." 
 
328 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 the best manner to the right person at the right mo 
 ment ; it was a touch-and-go impossible to describe, 
 guided by such tact and attention to the feelings of 
 others, that those he most attacked seemed most to en 
 joy the attack : never in the same mood for two min 
 utes together, and each mood seemed to be more agree 
 able than the last. " I talk a little sometimes," said 
 he, " and it used to be an amusement among the serv 
 ants at the Archbishop of York s, to snatch away my 
 plate when I began talking ; so I got a habit of holding 
 it with one hand when so engaged, and dining at single 
 anchor." 
 
 "Now, I mean not to drink one drop of wine to-day, 
 and I shall be mad with spirits. I always am when I 
 drink no wine. It is curious the effect a thimbleful of 
 
 wine has upon me ; I feel as flat as s jokes ; it 
 
 destroys my understanding : I forget the number of the 
 Muses, and think them thirty-nine of course ; and only 
 get myself right again by repeating the lines, and find 
 ing Descend, ye thirty-nine ! two feet too long." 
 
 " Oh, Saba carves for me. I always tell her I shall 
 cut her off with a shilling if she ever asks me to help 
 her to a dish before me. It is quite a pleasure to see 
 her carve." 
 
 "That pudding! yes, that was the pudding Lady 
 Holland asked the recipe for when she came to see us. 
 I shook my head, and said it could not be done, even 
 for her ladyship. She became more urgent ; Mrs. Syd 
 ney was soft-hearted, and gave it. The glory of it al 
 most turned my cook s head : she has never been the 
 same since. But our forte in the culinary line is our 
 salads : I pique myself on our salads. Saba always 
 dresses them after my recipe. I have put it into verse. 
 Taste it, and, if you like it, I will give it you. I was 
 not aware how much it had contributed to my repu- 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 329 
 
 tation, till I met Lady - - at Bowood, who begged 
 to be introduced to me, saying, she had so long wished 
 to know me. I was of course highly nattered, till she 
 added, For, Mr. Smith, I have heard so much of your 
 recipe for salads, that I was most anxious to obtain it 
 from you. Such and so various are the sources of fame ! 
 
 " To make this condiment, your poet begs 
 The pounded yellow of two hard-boil d eggs ; 
 Two boil d potatoes, pass d through kitchen sieve, 
 Smoothness and softness to the salad give. 
 Let onion atoms lurk within the bowl, 
 And, half-suspected, animate the whole. 
 Of mordant mustard add a single spoon, 
 Distrust the condiment that bites so soon ; 
 But deem it not, thou man of herbs, a fault, 
 To add a double quantity of salt. 
 And, lastly, o er the flavor d compound toss 
 A magic soup9on of anchovy sauce. 
 Oh, green and glorious ! Oh, herbaceous treat ! 
 Twould tempt the dying anchorite to eat : 
 Back to the world he d turn his fleeting soul, 
 And plunge his fingers in the salad bowl ! 
 Serenely full, the epicure would say, 
 Fate can not harm me, I have dined to-day." 
 
 "Mrs. Sydney was dreadfully alarmed about her side- 
 dishes the first time Luttrell paid us a visit, and grew 
 pale as the covers were lifted ; but they stood the test. 
 Luttrell tasted and praised. He spent a week with us, 
 and having associated him only with Pall Mall, I confess 
 I was agreeably surprised to find how pleasant an inmate 
 he made of a country-house, and almost of a family par 
 ty ; so light in hand, so willing to be pleased. Some of 
 his Irish stories, too, were most amusing, and his man 
 ner of telling them so good. One : Is your master at 
 home, Paddy? jVo, your honor. Why, I saw him 
 go in five minutes ago. Faith, your honor, he s not 
 exactly at home; he s only there in the back -yard 
 a-shooting rats with cannon, your honor, for his devar- 
 sionS 
 
330 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 "A school examination, too: the children were asked 
 what the first woman was made of. A general burst of 
 Ribs of mon ! ribs of man / And what was the first 
 man made of? Doost and ashes! doost and ashes! 
 was the reply. After this trial of us, he repeated his 
 visits several times, and we found him a most agreeable 
 inmate. 
 
 " Oh, don t tell me of facts, I never believe facts : you 
 know, Canning said nothing was so fallacious as facts, 
 except figures." 
 
 " My friend Ord s place is the last spot in England : 
 all beyond is chaos." 
 
 " That is a fine idea of Clarke s The frost is God s 
 plow, which he drives through every inch of ground in 
 the world, opening each clod and pulverizing the whole. 
 
 " When some one asked what could induce the Min 
 istry to send Lord M to Ireland and Lord C 
 
 to Scotland, Jekyll said, Oh, it is only the doctor w T ho 
 ha put wrong labels on them by mistake. The apoth 
 ecaries boys in London do this on purpose, and change 
 the labels for their amusement : so Lady F. takes Lord 
 D. s embrocation, and Lord D. rubs his leg with her 
 draught ; but the most remarkable part of it all is, that 
 it answers just as well as if the labels had been left." 
 
 " I once dissuaded a youth from entering the army, 
 on which he was bent, at the risk of breaking his moth 
 er s heart, by asking him how he would prevent his sword 
 from getting between his legs. It quite staggered him ; 
 he never solved the difficulty, and took to peace instead 
 of war." 
 
 " I agree with Sir James ]\Iackintosh, and have found 
 the world more good and more foolish than I thought 
 when young." 
 
 "It is an unlucky book fine sentiments fined down 
 till you can t see them ; encouraging young ladies in 
 
MEMOIR OF TUP: 11EV. SYDNEY SMITH. 331 
 
 dangerous imaginings of what is not ; of an exquisite 
 fellow bursting with sentiment, only he is in the moon 
 and can t be reached. I will, I think, write an opposi 
 tion hero, who shall be the antidote." 
 
 " The most promising sign in a boy is, I should say, 
 mathematics." 
 
 "Madame de Sevigne I think much overpraised; ev 
 ery body writes as well now. Lady Mary Wortley 
 wrote much better, sound sense. Twelve volumes of 
 pretty turns are too much." 
 
 "You remember Thurlow s answer to some one com 
 plaining of the injustice of a company. Why, you 
 never expected justice from a company, did you ? they 
 have neither a soul to lose, nor a body to kick. v 
 
 " Ah, you always detect a little of the Irish fossil, the 
 potato, peeping out in an Irishman." 
 
 Some one, speaking of Missions, ridiculed them as in 
 efficient. He dissented, saying, that "though all was 
 not done that was projected, or even boasted of, yet that 
 much good resulted ; and that wherever Christianity was 
 taught, it brought with it the additional good of civiliza 
 tion in its train, and men became better carpenters, bet 
 ter cultivators, better every thing." 
 
 He mentioned somebody rising in the House, saying, 
 "I rise to answer the Honorable Alligator on the other 
 side of the House." 
 
 " Have you heard my parody on Pope ? 
 
 " Why has not man a collar and a log? 
 For this plain reason man is not a dog. 
 Why is not man served up with sauce in dish ? 
 For this plain reason man is not a fish. 
 
 There are a great many other whys, but I will spare you." 
 
 " Was not very disagreeable ? Why, he was 
 
 as disagreeable as the occasion would permit, Luttrell 
 said." 
 
332 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 "Nobody was more witty or more bitter than Lord 
 Ellenborougli. A young lawyer, trembling with fear, 
 rose to make his first speech, and began : My lord, 
 my unfortunate client My lord, my unfortunate 
 client My lord Go on, sir, go on, said Lord 
 E. ; as far as you have proceeded hitherto, the Court 
 is entirely with you. This was perhaps irresistible; 
 but yet, how wicked! how cruel! it deserves a thou 
 sand years punishment at least." 
 
 "Luttrell used to say, I hate the sight of monkeys, 
 they remind me so of poor relations. 
 
 "Oh, they were all so beautiful, that Paris could not 
 have decided between them, but would have cut his 
 apple in slices." 
 
 "When I went into Hundell and Bridges s, there 
 were heaps of diamonds lying loose about the counter. 
 I never saw so many temptations, and so little apparent 
 watchfulness. I thought there were many sops, and 
 110 Cerberus. But they told me, when I asked, that 
 there were unseen eyes directed upon me in every part 
 of the shop." 
 
 Speaking of Lady Murray s mother, who had a most 
 benevolent countenance: "Her smile is so radiant, that 
 I believe it would force even a gooseberry-bush into 
 flower." 
 
 Some young person, answering on a subject in dis 
 cussion, "I don t know that," he said, smiling, "Ah! 
 what you don t know would make a great book, as 
 
 C - replied to B ." 
 
 " I never go to tragedies, my heart is too soft. There 
 is too much real misery in life. But what a face she 
 had ! The gods do not bestow such a face as Mrs. 
 Siddons s on the stage more than once in a century. I 
 knew her very well, and she had the good taste to laugh 
 heartily at my jokes ; she was an excellent person, but 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH 333 
 
 she was not remarkable out of her profession, and never 
 got out of tragedy even in common life. She used to 
 stab the potatoes ; and said, Boy, give me a knife ! as 
 she would have said, Give me the dagger! 
 
 " Oh, Mrs. Sydney believes it is all true ; and when 
 I went with her to the play, I was always obliged to 
 sit behind her, arid whisper, Why, Kate, he is not 
 really going to kill her she is not really dead, you 
 know ; or she would have cried her eyes out, and gone 
 into hysterics." 
 
 "All gentlemen and ladies eat too much. I made a 
 calculation, and found I must have consumed some 
 wagon-loads too much in the course of my life. Lock 
 up the mouth, and you have gained the victory. I 
 believe our friend, Lady Morley, has hit upon the right 
 plan in dining modestly at two. When we are absorbed 
 in side-dishes, and perplexed with variety of wines, she 
 sits among us, lightly flirting with a potato, in full pos 
 session of her faculties, and at liberty to make the best 
 use of them a liberty, it must be owned, she does not 
 neglect, for how agreeable she is ! I like Lady Morley ; 
 she is what I call good company" 
 
 "Never was known such a summer as this ; water is 
 selling at threepence a pint. My cows drink beer, my 
 horses ale." 
 
 "The French certainly understand the art of furnish 
 ing better than we do ; the profusion of glass in their 
 rooms gives such gayety. I remember entering a 
 room with glass all round it, at the French Em 
 bassy, and saw myself reflected on every side. I 
 took it for a meeting of the clergy, and was delighted of 
 course." 
 
 "In composing, as a general rule, run your pen 
 through every other word you have written ; you have 
 no idea what vigor it will give your style." 
 
334 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 The conversation turning on , I forget who it 
 
 was said so well, " There is the same difference be 
 tween their tongues as between the hour and the minute 
 hand ; one goes ten times as fast, and the other signifies 
 ten times as much." 
 
 "I think no house is well fitted up in the country 
 without people of all ages. There should be an old 
 man or woman to pet ; a parrot, a child, a monkey ; 
 something, as the French say, to love and to despise. 
 I have just bought a parrot, to keep my servants in 
 good-humor." 
 
 "No, I don t like dogs ; I always expect them to go 
 mad. A lady asked me once for a motto for her dog- 
 Spot. I proposed, Out, damned Spot! but she did 
 not think it sentimental enough. You remember the 
 story of the French marquise, who, when her pet lap- 
 dog bit a piece out of her footman s leg, exclaimed, 
 Ah, poor little beast I I hope it won t make him sick. 
 
 I called one day on Mrs. , and her lap-dog flew at 
 
 my leg and bit it. After pitying her dog, like the 
 French marquise, she did all she could to comfort me, 
 by assuring me the dog was a Dissenter, and hated the 
 Church, and was brought up in a Tory family. But 
 whether the bite came from madness or Dissent, I knew 
 myself too well to neglect it ; and went on the instant 
 to a surgeon and had it cut out, making a mem. on the 
 way to enter that house no more." 
 
 "If you want to make much of a small income, al 
 ways ask yourself these two questions : first, do I really 
 want it ? secondly, can I do without it ? These two 
 questions, answered honestly, will double your fortune. 
 I have always inculcated it in my family." 
 
 "Lady is a remarkably clever, agreeable wo 
 man, but Nature has made one trifling omission a 
 heart; I do like a little heart, I must confess." 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 335 
 
 " I never was asked in all my life to be a trustee or 
 an executor. No one believes that I can be a plod 
 ding man of business, as mindful of its dry details as 
 the gravest and most stupid man alive." 
 
 " 1 have heard that one of the American ministers in 
 this country was so oppressed by the numbers of his 
 countrymen applying for introductions, that he was 
 obliged at last to set up sham Sydney Smiths and 
 false Macaulays. But they can t have been good 
 counterfeits ; for a most respectable American, on 
 his return home, was heard describing Sydney Smith 
 as a thin, grave, dull old fellow; and as to Macau- 
 lay (said he), I never met a more silent man in all my 
 life!" 
 
 Talking of Mrs. : "She has not very clear 
 
 ideas, though, about the tides. I remember, at a large 
 party at - - House, her insisting that it was always 
 high tide at London-bridge at twelve o clock. She 
 referred to me : * Now, Mr. Smith, is it not so ? I 
 answered, It used not to be so, I believe, formerly, but 
 perhaps the Lord Mayor and Aldermen have altered it 
 lately. " 
 
 "Mr. - once came to see us in Yorkshire; and 
 he was so small and so active, he looked exactly like a 
 little spirit running about in a kind of undress without 
 a body." 
 
 Speaking of a robbery: "It is Bacon, I think, who 
 says so beautifully, He that robs in darkness breaks 
 God s lock. How fine that is !" 
 
 On some persons mentioning Mr. - : "Yes, I 
 honor him for his talents and character, and his mis 
 fortunes have softened the little asperities of his man 
 ner, and made him much more agreeable. Tears are 
 the waters of the heart." 
 
 "People complain of their servants: I never had a 
 
336 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 bad one ; but then I study their comforts, that is one 
 recipe for securing good servants. * 
 
 "Dante, in his Purgatorio, would have assigned 
 
 iive hundred years of assenting to , and as many 
 
 to Upraising his fellow-creatures/ 
 
 "I have divided mankind into classes. There is the 
 Noodle very numerous, but well known. The Afflic 
 tion-woman a valuable member of society, generally 
 an ancient spinster, or distant relation of the family, in 
 small circumstances : the moment she hears of any acci 
 dent or distress in the family., she sets off, packs up 
 her little bag, and is immediately established there, to 
 comfort, natter, fetch, and carry. The Up-takers a 
 class of people who only see through their fingers ends, 
 and go through a room taking up and touching every 
 thing, however visible and however tender. The Clear- 
 ers who begin at the dish before them, and go on pick 
 ing or tasting till it is cleared, however large the com 
 pany, small the supply, and rare the contents. The 
 Sheep-walkers those who never deviate from the beaten 
 track, who think as their fathers have thought since the 
 flood, who start from a new idea as they would from 
 guilt. The Lemon-squeezers of society people who 
 act on you as a wet blanket, who see a cloud in the 
 sunshine, the nails of the coffin in the ribbons of the 
 bride, predictors of evil, extinguishers of hope : who, 
 where there are two sides, see only the worst people 
 whose very look curdles the milk, and sets your teeth 
 on edge. The Let-well-aloners cousins-german to the 
 Noodle, yet a variety ; people who have begun to think 
 and to act, but are timid, and afraid to try their wings, 
 and tremble at the sound of their own footsteps as 
 they advance, and think it safer to stand still. Then 
 the Washerwomen very numerous, who exclaim, 
 * He hardly ever lost a servant but from marriage or death. 
 
MEMOIli OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 337 
 
 4 Well ! as sure as ever I put on my best "bonnet, it 
 is certain to rain, etc. There are many more, but I 
 forget them. 
 
 " Oh yes ! there is another class, as you say; people 
 who are always treading on your gouty foot, or talking 
 in your deaf ear, or asking you to give them something 
 with your lame hand, stirring up your weak point, rub 
 bing your sore, etc. 
 
 " The advice I sent to the Bishop of New Zealand, 
 when he had to receive the cannibal chiefs there, was to 
 say to them, * I deeply regret, sirs, to have nothing on 
 my own table suited to your tastes, but you will find 
 plenty of cold curate and roasted clergyman on the 
 side-board ; and if, in spite of this prudent provision, 
 his visitors should end their repast by eating him like 
 wise, why I could only add, I sincerely hoped he 
 would disagree with them. In this last sentiment he 
 must cordially have agreed with me ; and, upon the 
 whole, he must have considered it a useful hint, and 
 would take it kindly. Don t you think so ?" 
 
 On joining us in the drawing-room, and sitting down 
 to the tea-table: "Thank God for tea! What would 
 the world do without tea ? how did it exist ? I am glad 
 I was not born before tea. I can drink any quantity 
 when I have not tasted wine ; otherwise I am haunted 
 by blue-devils by day, and dragons by night. If you 
 want to improve your understanding, drink coffee. Sir 
 James Mackintosh used to say, he believed the difference 
 between one man and another was produced by the 
 quantity of coffee he drank. 
 
 " O Connell presented me to the Irish members as the 
 powerful and entertaining advocate of the Irish Catholic 
 claims." 
 
 Talking of the ardor of country gentlemen for preserv 
 ing game : "I believe - would die for his game. He 
 VOL. L P 
 
338 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 is truly a pheasant-minded man ; he revenged himself 
 upon me by telling all the Joe Millers he could find as 
 my jokes." 
 
 " Oh, the Dean of deserves to be preached to 
 
 death by wild curates." 
 
 "I am old, but I certainly have not that sign of old 
 age, extolling the past at the expense of the present. 
 On the contrary, the progress of the world in the last 
 fifty years almost takes my breath away. Steam and 
 electricity have advanced it beyond the dreams of the 
 wildest visionary two hundred years ago. By-the-by, 
 on the subject of steam, I have a most curious letter, 
 which I extracted from a periodical, and will show you ; 
 it struck me as so interesting, that I made inquiries about 
 it from the author of the publication, and have some rea 
 son to believe it is authentic." 
 
 Letter of Marion de Lorme to the Marquis de Cinq- 
 Mars. 
 
 "PARIS, February, 1641. 
 
 " MY DEAR EFFIART, 
 
 " While you are forgetting me at Narbonne, and giv 
 ing yourself up to the pleasures of the Court and the 
 delight of thwarting M. le Cardinal de Richelieu, I, ac 
 cording to your express desire, am doing the honors of 
 Paris to your English lord the Marquis of Worcester ; 
 and I carry him about, or rather he carries me, from 
 curiosity to curiosity, choosing always the most grave 
 and serious, speaking little, listening with extreme atten 
 tion, and fixing on those whom he interrogates two large 
 blue eyes, which seem to pierce to the very centre of 
 their thoughts. He is remarkable for never being satis 
 fied with any explanations which are given him, and he 
 never sees things in the light in which they are shown 
 to him ; you may judge of this by a visit we made to- 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 339 
 
 gether to Bicetre, where he imagined he had discovered 
 a genius in a madman. 
 
 " If this madman had not been actually raving, I 
 verily believe your Marquis would have entreated his 
 liberty, and have carried him off to London, in order 
 to hear his extravagances from morning till night, at 
 his ease. We were crossing the court of the mad 
 house, and I, more dead than alive with fright, kept 
 close to my companion s side, when a frightful face ap 
 peared behind some immense bars, and a hoarse voice 
 exclaimed, I am not mad ! I am not mad ! I have 
 made a discovery which would enrich the country that 
 adopted it. 4 What has he discovered ? asked our 
 guide. Oh! he answered, shrugging his shoulders, 
 something trifling enough : you would never guess it ; 
 it is the use of the steam of boiling water. I began 
 to laugh. 4 This man, continued the keeper, is named 
 Salomon de Caus ; he came from Normandy four years 
 ago, to present to the King a statement of the won 
 derful effects that might be produced from his inven 
 tion. To listen to him, you would imagine that with 
 steam you could navigate ships, move carriages ; in 
 fact, there is no end to the miracles which, he insists 
 upon it, could be performed. The Cardinal sent the 
 madman away without listening to him. Salomon de 
 Caus, far from being discouraged, followed the Cardi 
 nal wherever he went with the most determined per 
 severance, who, tired of finding him forever in his path, 
 and annoyed at his folly, shut him up in Bicetre, where 
 he has now been for three years and a half, and where, 
 as you hear, he calls out to every visitor that he is not 
 mad, but that he has made a valuable discovery. He has 
 even written a book on the subject, which I have here. * 
 
 * This book is entitled, "Les liaisons des Forces mouvantes, avec 
 diverses machines tant utiles que puissantes." (Pub. 1615, in folio.) 
 
840 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 "Lord Worcester, who had listened to this account 
 with much interest, after reflecting a time, asked for 
 the book, of which, after having read several pages, he 
 said, * This man is not mad ; in my country, instead of 
 shutting him up, he would have been rewarded. Take 
 me to him, for I should like to ask him some ques 
 tions. He was accordingly conducted to his cell ; but, 
 after a time, he came back sad and thoughtful. He is 
 indeed mad now, said he ; misfortune and captivity 
 have alienated his reason ; but it is you who have to 
 answer for his madness ; when you cast him into that 
 cell, you confined the greatest genius of the age. After 
 this we went away, and since that time he has done no 
 thing but talk of Salomon de Caus." 
 
 " I destroy, on principle, all letters to me, but I have 
 no secrets myself. I should not care if almost every 
 word I have written were published at Charing Cross. I 
 live with open windows." 
 
 "TKs is a noble description of God s omnipresence 
 (turning over the leaves of a book), His centre is every 
 where, his circumference is nowhere." 1 
 
 Talking of New- Year s Day and Christmas : " No, 
 the returns of those fixed periods always make me mel 
 ancholy. I am glad when we have fairly turned the 
 corner, and started afresh. I feel, like my friend Mack 
 intosh, there is another child of Time lost, as the year 
 departs. 
 
 "What a loss you had in not knowing Mackintosh! 
 how was it? . . . . Yes, his manner was cold; his 
 skake of the hand came under the genus mortmain ; 
 but his heart was overflowing with benevolence. I like 
 that simile I made on him in my letter, of a great ship 
 cutting its cable ; it is fine, and it well described Mack 
 intosh. His chief foible was indiscriminate praise. I 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 341 
 
 amused myself the other day," said he, laughing, "in 
 writing a termination of a speecli for Irim ; would you 
 like to hear it ? I will read it to you : 
 
 " It is impossible to conclude these observations 
 without expressing the obligations I am under to a per 
 son in a much more humble scene of life I mean, sir, 
 the hackney-coachman by whom I have been driven to 
 this meeting. To pass safely through the streets of a 
 crowded metropolis must require, on the part of the 
 driver, no common assemblage of qualities. He must 
 have caution without timidity, activity without precipi 
 tation, and courage without rashness ; he must have a 
 clear perception of his object, and a dexterous use of 
 his means. I can safely say of the individual in ques 
 tion, that, for a moderate reward, he has displayed un 
 wearied skill ; and to him I shall never forget that I owe 
 unfractured integrity of limb, exemption from pain, and 
 perhaps prolongation of existence. 
 
 " Nor can I pass over the encouraging cheerfulness 
 with which I was received by the waiter, nor tb^ useful 
 blaze of light communicated by the link-boys, as I de 
 scended from the carriage. It was with no common 
 pleasure that I remarked in these men, not the mer 
 cenary bustle of venal service, but the genuine effusions 
 of untutored benevolence ; not the rapacity of subordi 
 nate agency, but the alacrity of humble friendship. 
 What may not be said of a country where all the little 
 accidents of life bring forth the hidden qualities of the 
 heart where her vehicles arc driven, her streets illu 
 mined, and her bells answered, by men teeming with all 
 the refinements of civilized life ? 
 
 " I can not conclude, sir, without thanking you for 
 the very clear and distinct manner in which you have 
 announced the proposition on which we are to vote. It 
 is but common justice to add, that public assemblies 
 
342 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH 
 
 rarely witness articulation so perfect, language so select, 
 and a manner so eminently remarkable for every thing 
 that is kind, impartial, and just. "* 
 
 At ten we always went down stairs to prayers, in the 
 library. Immediately after, if we were alone, appeared 
 the "farmer" at the door, lantern in hand. "David, 
 bring me my coat and stick;" and off he set with 
 him, summer and winter, to visit his horses, and ,see 
 that they were all well fed, and comfortable in their re 
 gions for the night. He kept up this custom all his life. 
 
 On returning to the drawing-room, he usually asked 
 for a little music. " If I were to begin life again, I 
 would devote much time to music. All musical people 
 seem to me happy; it is the most engrossing pursuit; 
 almost the only innocent and unpunished passion. 
 
 " Never give way to melancholy : nothing encroaches 
 more ; I fight against it vigorously.! One great rem 
 edy is, to take short views of life. Are you happy now ? 
 Are you likely to remain so till this evening? or next 
 week ? or next month ? or next year ? Then why de 
 stroy present happiness by a distant misery, which may 
 never come at all, or you may never live to see it ? for 
 every substantial grief has twenty shadows, and most of 
 them shadows of your own making." 
 
 Speaking of : " It was a beautiful old age ; how 
 
 fine those lines of Waller are 
 
 The soul s dark cottage, batter d and decay d, 
 Let in new lights through chinks that Time has made ! " 
 
 * This trifling critique on his old friend, good-humored as it is, I 
 should not have given without the permission of his family, who knew 
 that Sir James, had he seen it, would have been the first to smile 
 at it. I ought to add, that the same kind indulgence has been granted 
 me wherever I have ventured on any anecdote that I feared might give 
 pain. 
 
 t Yet I see, in his note-book " I wish I were of a more sanguine 
 temperament ; I always anticipate the worst." 
 
MEMOIli OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 34;J 
 
 u Yes ; - was merry, not wise. You know, a man 
 of small understanding is merry where he can, not where 
 he should. Lightning must, I think, "be the wit of 
 hearen." 
 
 Mr, P - said to him, " I always write best with an 
 amanuensis." "Oh! but arc you quite sure he puts 
 down what you dictate, my dear P. ?" 
 
 Speaking of a Revolutionist : " No man, I fear, can 
 effect great benefits for his country without some sacri 
 fice of the minor virtues." 
 
 f "I often think what a different man I might have 
 - been if, like my friend Lord Holland, and others, I had 
 / passed my life with all that is most worth seeing and 
 hearing in Europe, instead of being confined through the 
 greater part of it to the society of the parish-clerk. I 
 always feel it is combating with unequal weapons ; but 
 I have made a tolerable fight of it, nevertheless. I am 
 rather an admirer of O Conncll : he, it can not be denied, 
 has done a great deal for Ireland, and, on the whole, I 
 believe he meant well; but hell, as Johnson says, is 
 paved with good intentions. 
 
 A little more of such talk, intermixed with those brill 
 iant and amusing bursts of humor and attack which I 
 sec prettily compared, in one of the printed sketches of 
 him, to " summer lightning, that never harmed the ob 
 ject illumined by its flash" and then to bed ; and all 
 was quiet, and at peace, in the little parsonage. 
 
 I have endeavored here partly from recollection, part 
 ly from my own and my friends notes to give some 
 faint idea of the style of my father s conversation and his 
 manner of living with his family and friends. I flatter 
 myself, by those who knew him intimately, it will not be 
 thought an unfaithful copy. But, alas ! without the look, 
 the voice, the manner, the laugh, the thousand little del- 
 
344 MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 icate touches, the quick repartee, the connecting links 
 from which these observations sprang without the mas 
 ter-spirit s voice to animate the whole without all this, 
 I feel it is but a body without a soul. Yet, body as it 
 is, to me it is most precious, as all that now remains to 
 me of my father ; and I would fain believe there are a 
 few still alive who will accept this relic of a great man 
 gone, with gratitude will live with him again in these 
 pages will be reminded, by them, of him as he was, ad 
 not as I have here imperfectly attempted to describe him. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Extract from Lady s Journal. Last Illness. Comes to Town. 
 
 Dr. Chambers called in. Anxiety of Friends for his Recovery. 
 Meeting of Brothers. Living to poor Clergyman. Death of Sydney 
 Smith. Death of his eldest Brother. 
 
 I HATE but little more to add; my (to me) sad tale 
 is nearly told ; but I will here insert some extracts from 
 a journal of a dear Scotch friend, who spent a month in 
 his house, which, though never meant to see the light, 
 have most kindly been given to me at my request ; and 
 which I feel to be valuable, not only because they are 
 nearly the last notes I have of him (being taken the year 
 before his death), but because they also, on many points, 
 confirm, from notes taken at the moment, the traits I 
 have given of him from mere recollection. 
 
 " Do you not like the country? I like London a 
 great deal better ; the study of men and women, better 
 than trees and grass. 
 
 " Oh ! some men are born happy. I often think, 
 what a fortunate circumstance it was for me, in going to 
 Edinburgh (quite a stranger), to fall at once into inti 
 macy with such remarkable men as Jeffrey and the rest. 
 How was it ? I went to Edinburgh with a pupil I 
 had nothing else. Then the Edinburgh Review what 
 a machine that has been! 
 
 " I love Jeffrey very dearly; and, speaking of his 
 knowledge of all subjects, and his review of Madame de 
 Stae l : I used to say then that the nearest thing Jeffrey 
 
Ji4G MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITM. 
 
 had ever seen to a *ine Parisian lady was John Playfair. 
 How we laughed at this ! 
 
 " Miss Edge worth was delightful so clever and sen 
 sible ! She does not say witty things, but there is such 
 a perfume of wit runs through all her conversation as 
 makes it very brilliant. 
 
 " We walked home after church ; he paid visits to the 
 cottagers, speaking to them frankly and cheerily, or 
 scolding them for not coming to tell him they were bet 
 ter, or that they wanted more medicine. 
 
 " Nobody (says a sketch in the Spectator, written 
 by some friend) too obscure for Sidney to put in good- 
 humor with themselves. Nay, I have seen him brighten 
 the countenance of his poor parishioner for the day, by a 
 captivating phrase or two, when he met them, or visited 
 their cottages. On one occasion, his parish-clerk being 
 laid up with a broken shin, Sydney called to inquire. 
 I m gettin round, your honor, but I sha n t be fit for 
 duty on Sunday. Sorry for that, Lovelace ; indeed, 
 we shall miss you at the singing. Then, turning to me, 
 You can t think what a good hand Lovelace is at a 
 psalm ; you should hear him lead off the Old Hundredth. 
 At which the old clerk s eyes fairly glistened, and he 
 stammered out, Oh ! your honor s only saying that to 
 cheer me up a bit. 
 
 " Sometimes lie had a good report to give of an absent 
 son or daughter, whom he had seen in London, and ob 
 tained a place for. He employed many old people about 
 the garden, and was anxious that every body near him 
 should be comfortable. Have you seen my doctor s 
 shop? Come, I ll show it you. I expressed my won 
 der. Yes, life is a difficult thing ; here s every thing 
 prepared stomach- warmers, sore-throat collars, etc. I 
 studied medicine, and went through the hospitals at Edin 
 burgh ; I know a good deal. I often regret that medical 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 347 
 
 men will not talk more of their profession. It is a very 
 interesting subject to every one, at least a little of it ; 
 but I never can get any of them to speak they look 
 quite offended. 
 
 " The poor people and the servants are very fond of 
 him ; he does them so much good, and gives them clothes, 
 books, medicines. They look to him for every thing, 
 and they like his free speaking to them ; he is so merry 
 and frank : so my maid tells me. 
 
 " He sometimes read aloud to Mrs. Sydney and me in 
 the evening, when any thing struck him such as parts 
 of Liebig so clearly and distinctly, observing shortly on 
 parts as he read, and listening good-naturedly to our ob 
 servations. We had each our arm-chair, lamp, and book 
 in the evening, and not much conversation when alone. 
 Occasionally he would sit with an air of profound medi 
 tation, and would begin as thus : fc Forgive us our tres 
 passes, as we forgive them that trespass against us. 
 That is new ; that is peculiar to the Christian religion. 
 Or he would repeat the sublime prayers for the queen, 
 in his grand tones, to mark their fine composition. 
 
 " 1 dine sometimes at - , and the head of the 
 bank sits at the foot of the table, looking so attentive, 
 and bowing so obsequiously ; and when I talk, a tort et 
 a travers, as I am apt to do, I see by his expression 
 that he says to himself, " There is a man I would not 
 lend money to at fifteen per cent. ; he s a rash man ; he 
 would buy bad Exchequer bills ; he is not to be trust 
 ed/ He little knows me. That is very true, said 
 Mrs. Sydney ; people are not aware that Sydney, with 
 all his mirth, is one of the most cautious, prudent men 
 that ever existed; he is always looking forward, and 
 providing against what may happen. Yes, I always 
 expect the worst ; but it has a good effect, for it makes 
 me cautious. 
 
348 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 " When I went to Edinburgh I had two introduc 
 tions, to Sir William Forbes and Professor - . He 
 was clerk to the General Assembly of the kirk. He 
 said to me one day after dinner, "D n the solemn 
 league and covenant ! it has spoiled the longs and shorts 
 in Scotland. " 
 
 " I like Dr. Ferguson much. William Clerk is an 
 original man ; how rare it is to meet an original man ! 
 
 " I wish sometimes that I were a Scotchman, to have 
 people care about me so much. 
 
 " i The Americans, I see, call me a Minor Canon. 
 They are abusing me dreadfully to-day : they call me 
 Xantippe ; they might at least have known my sex : and 
 they say I am eighty-four. I don t know how it is, 
 said he, laughing, but every body who behaves ill to 
 me is sure to come to mischief before the year s out. I 
 am not angry with them ; I only say, I pity you, you 
 are sure to suffer. 
 
 " Were you remarkable as a boy, Mr. Smith ? Yes, 
 madam, I was a remarkably fat boy. I was at one 
 time to have been a supercargo to China, to Hong Kong. 
 
 " Here is a hymn-book that an old man of eighty- 
 four sends me, he says, because of his pleasure in hear 
 ing of my giving the living of Edmonton to Tate s son. 
 I should have been better pleased if it had not cost me 
 a shilling. Oh! said Mrs. Sydney, I would will 
 ingly have given a guinea for it. 
 
 " Here is an anonymous letter from some one who 
 has a quantity of Mississippi bonds, asking me what he 
 should do with them ? How can I tell ? they arc not 
 worth sixpence. 
 
 " That month every post brought letters to him, ei-^ 
 ther of complaint of the Americans, of the income-tax, 
 or of some evil, which the writers (strangers) entreated 
 Mr. Smith to write against, and to help them to rem- 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 349 
 
 edy. There were also many feeling letters on the sub 
 ject of his generosity to the family of Canon Tate. He 
 could not conceive why the world praised him so much 
 for that ; he always spoke so simply about it, that it 
 showed me how natural it was to his disposition to be 
 kind and generous. He was evidently pleased by some 
 of the newspapers clever notices of his Letters to Amer 
 ica. Well, they lay it on pretty thick to-day ; where 
 is Mrs. Sydney? He was perpetually coming to her 
 with something for her sympathy or consultation ; and 
 richly did she deserve that happiness, from her devoted 
 love and admiration. One day I pointed out an article 
 in the Times, of one who was reckoned the Sydney 
 Smith of Spain : it amused him. 
 
 " I had once a mind to write a letter to young bish 
 ops ; bishops I have known speak to their inferior clergy 
 worse than they do to their footmen. Why do you 
 not, Mr. Smith ? Oh, it would be a life of contention ; 
 I am too old to bear a life of contention now. 
 
 " There is a specimen of national honesty! read that 
 marked with red ink. Do you mean a joke? !No, 
 no. Do give me a sign. Well, I ll sometimes give 
 you a sign when there is no joke, and you ll be sure to 
 laugh. Frere used to tread on a man s toes to make 
 him think he said something wrong. . . . When I was 
 in Edinburgh, I said to a lady, speaking of the Dean of 
 Faculty, that we thought our Deans in England had no 
 faculties. She said, "Well, I call that a very good 
 joko!" 
 
 " I hope somebody will tell me when I grow old and 
 prosy ; though I am not likely to get very prosy, I m 
 in general so short. Yes, too short, Mr. Smith. 
 
 " Christmas-day was one rich in recollections. The 
 weather was fine. I looked out, and saw the maid Ma 
 ria gravely and busily tying on oranges to the branches 
 
350 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 of the bay-trees, that were planted in large green tubs 
 round the lawn. The effect was gay and sunny, and 
 pleased him mightily. The sermon that day was a glo 
 rious one on Christmas, the contrast of the world be 
 fore the blessed era, and the sudden effect after grati 
 tude, immortal life, etc. I hope the sermon is pre 
 served. I can not give a good account of all that was 
 interesting at that time of the children s feast, the 
 schools, the prizes, the charities, etc ; but I remember 
 my admiration of the variety of character which Mr. 
 Smith displayed that day. From the sublime duties 
 of the morning, he became, with the large family-party 
 assembled at dinner, the Sydney Smith of London soci 
 ety ; and in the evening he was delightful. I crave 
 for music, Mrs. Smith ; music ! music ! He sang, with 
 his sweet, rich voice, A few gay soarings yet. He im 
 itated an orchestra preluding, talking French, telling 
 stories, and laughing so infectiously. Next morning he 
 was merrier than ever ; I found the party all at breakfast, 
 waiting till I came, before he would allow a Scotch cake 
 to be touched, which my maid had prepared (bad enough). 
 He had often asked me to suggest some improvement to 
 his house, something new (poor I could think of no 
 thing new, but cakes made with soda and buttermilk!) ; 
 it was this cake we were all to take the same chance of 
 suffering from, by eating it together. Let us make a 
 tontine for the survivor, said he, laughing. It was 
 wonderful how he played upon this cake, on me, and on 
 Scottish luxuries ; he fancied that I feared to be too 
 comfortable. Oh, that easy couch ! you ll suffer for 
 that a thousand years hence, depend upon it. 
 
 " Want of money is a great evil : I declare, every 
 guinea I have gained I have been the happier. I was 
 very poor till I was appointed to St. Paul s ; that made 
 inc. easy, and then my brother Conrtenay s death made 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 351 
 
 me rich. An old friend congratulating him on his ap 
 pointment to St. Paul s : Why, I think it makes me 
 most happy to feel I can now keep a carriage and horses 
 for her, in her old age (pointing to Mrs. Sydney), which 
 I could not have done before. 
 
 " I once rode on a turtle iive feet along, supported 
 by two people : piety trampling luxury underfoot ! Do 
 you take it ? 
 
 " The first sermon I heard in Combe Florey church 
 was certainly meant for my good : Cast your care upon 
 God, for he careth for you. It was so comforting and 
 encouraging ! With what delight did I look and listen, 
 in that church, to the grand form and powerful counte 
 nance, noble and melodious voice ! In reading the Les 
 sons and Psalms, he read so as almost to make a com 
 mentary on every word, and the meaning came out so rich 
 and deep. His sermons were not given in St. Paul s 
 with more interest and effect ; and yet they were adapt 
 ed to the congregation, from their plain and practical 
 sense. Remembering him in St. Paul s crowded cathe 
 dral, and looking at him in the little village church, 
 filled with peasantry, I was pleased to see him always 
 the same. 
 
 u I wish I could convey the idea of his appearance as 
 he sat in the bay-window of the library, writing. I used 
 sometimes, in walking past, to venture near, to look at 
 him. There was power, profundity, and meaning in 
 his countenance; and he would often take up his pa 
 pers with an amused expression. I was convinced that 
 he was a very happy man. I often regretted that I had 
 no spirits or courage to speak to him, or to join him in 
 his walks in the garden, but I have much respect for 
 the silence of a great man. 
 
 " These memorandums seem very simple, but I wish 
 ed to be able to recall to myself the looks and tones of 
 
352 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 one whom I had been accustomed to admire through 
 much of my life ; and I feel, when writing for myself ] 
 that my impressions are conveyed. 
 
 " On New- Year s Day, we were walking in the gar 
 den ; he discovered a crocus, which had burst through 
 the frozen earth; he stopped suddenly, gazed at it si 
 lently for a few seconds, and, touching it with his staff, 
 pronounced solemnly, The resurrection of the world ! " 
 
 To this pretty, simple journal I have little to add. 
 Yet how different are the minds of men ! An apple fell 
 to the ground, and Sir Isaac Newton saw in it one of 
 the great laws of nature. How many men would have 
 passed that little crocus, and seen it only a flower : while 
 to my father s mind (not quite unworthy of this great 
 ancestor) it brought at one glance to his thoughts all 
 the wonderful effects the breath of life, which had gone 
 forth, was producing in every portion of the world, for 
 man s benefit now, and was to produce on man himself 
 in a world to come. 
 
 He saw but one resurrection upon earth more. In 
 the spring he went up to London, as usual, for a short 
 time ; and while there, met, at the house of Mr. Van de 
 Weyer, a literary man of some eminence who afterward 
 published a sketch of him in the "Revue des Deux 
 Mondes ;" in which he introduced a short and humorous 
 answer of my father s to him, not however intended for 
 publication. My mother wishing to know some particu 
 lars of this from Mr. Van de Weyer, after my father s 
 death, he had the kindness, amidst all the hurry of a sud 
 den departure for Germany, to write out the following 
 account of the transaction for her, which he has given 
 me permission to insert. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 353 
 
 June, 1852. 
 
 "MY DEAR MRS. SYDNEY SMITH, 
 
 "I hasten, before our departure for Germany, to in 
 close, according to your wishes, several extracts from the 
 letters which my poor friend Eugene Kobin wrote to me 
 on the subject of the article published by him in the 
 Revue des Deux Mondes. 
 
 "In 1844, Eugene Robin, who had left Brussels, 
 where lie had been educated, and had, at a very early 
 age, distinguished himself, both as a poet and a critic, 
 spent a few days with us in London; and, as he was 
 anxious to know the best and most original writers of 
 England, we had long conversations together on the 
 works of Mr. Sydney Smith, which I lent him, and for 
 which he soon felt and expressed a great admiration. On 
 the 22d of April, I received from him the following letter : 
 
 " Vous vous souvenez peut-etre de m avoir parle de 
 la collection des ecrits de Jeffrey et de Sydney Smith 
 sur lesquels il y avait de bons articles a faire pour la 
 Revue des Deux Mondes. " Le Jeffrey" a ete traite par 
 M. Forcade, dans la derniere livraison ; mais le " Sydney 
 Smith" vient de m echoir en partagc. J ai demande le 
 livre a Londres : mais je voudrais bien, comme vous con- 
 naissez intimement Pauteur, quo vous eussiez la bonte, 
 si vos loisirs vous le pcrmettcnt, de me dire si ce sont la 
 reellement tous ses ouvrages ; de me donner (c est bien 
 indiscret de vous demander ces choses-la) sur 1 homme et 
 sur 1 ecrivain de ces details qu avec votre esprit d obser- 
 vation, vous seul pouvez bien connaitre. Us ajouteraient 
 singulierement de prix a un travail fait avec conscience. 
 J ai le pain de mon article ; j attends de vous le set. 
 Pourquoi m avez-vous encourage a ne voir en vous que 
 1 homme de lettres bienveillant pour scs jcunes confreres ? 
 Je nc vous importunerais pas de la sorte. 
 
 "I immediately answered that I very much regretted 
 
354 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 not to be able to comply with his request, my very inti 
 macy with Mr. Sydney Smith preventing me, without his 
 consent, from sending for a Review any biographical an 
 ecdotes or critical observations on his life and writings ; 
 but I advised M. Robin to write himself to Mr. S. Smith, 
 and I offered to deliver his letter, and to explain both his 
 reasons for doing so, and my reasons for not acceding to 
 his demand, and to obtain an answer for him. M. Robin 
 sent me a charming letter (I regret that I have not kept 
 a copy of it) for Mr. Sydney Smith, who kindly approved 
 of what I had said and done, and intrusted to my care 
 an answer to Eugene Robin s letter.* 
 
 " More than two months elapsed before Eugene Robin 
 acknowledged the receipt of this letter to me in the fol 
 lowing words : 
 
 " PARIS, k 3 Sept., 1844. 
 
 " Vous avez bien voulu m envoyer la lettre amicale 
 et toujours spirituelle de votre ami le Reverend Sydney 
 Smith. Elle m a grandement encourage a faire Particle 
 dont je vous avais parle ; maintenant, ce travail est fini 
 depuis plus de quinze jours ; il n y manque plus quo 
 quelques petits details biographiques, qui, transmis par 
 vous, selon le desir exprime par M. Sydney Smith, rele- 
 veraient singuliereinent mon recit et ma critique. Si vous 
 vouliez faire un effort en faveur de I aimable Chanoine de 
 Saint-Paul, que ne vous devrais-je pas ? 
 
 " I have not kept a copy of my answer to him, the 
 substance of which was communicated to Mr. Sydney 
 Smith. The article appeared soon after, and Mr. Syd 
 ney Smith was informed of its publication by M. Robin. 
 This letter was not sent through me : I heard of it by 
 the two following notes from Mr. Sydney Smith : 
 
 * The letter, having been already published, is not given here. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 355 
 
 " October 21, 1844. 
 
 " You may remember I wrote through you to Eu 
 gene Robin, giving, at his request, some account of my 
 self. I have received a letter from him, stating that the 
 Review is published, and that he has quoted a part of my 
 letter. I confess this rather alarms me. Will it be put 
 ting you to an inconvenience if I beg the loan of the Re 
 view for two or three hours ? I will deviate from my 
 usual custom, and return it punctually. 
 
 " October 24. 
 
 " I have received the Review by post, so I will not 
 trouble you for yours. 
 
 " Eugene has said more about me than I deserve. 
 He is of himself a little long ; but I am very much pleased 
 and flattered by the approbation of so clever a man. 
 
 " He had better not have quoted my letter ; but there 
 is no great harm. Yours, SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 " We leave to-morrow. Believe me, my dear Mrs. 
 Sydney Smith, yours very faithfully, 
 
 " SYLVAIX VAN DE WEZETC." 
 
 
 
 Here, though slightly anticipating events, I shall insert 
 two most touching letters from his friend Lord Jeffrey 
 the one on the occasion of his long, last illness, and the 
 other on receiving the fragment 011 the Irish Church, after 
 my father s death. And I give them with the more 
 pleasure, as they not only furnish fresh proof of the ten 
 derness and kindness of Lord Jeffrey s nature, but afford 
 ample testimony to the devotion and admiration he bore 
 my father, and which my father s deep love for him so 
 fully deserved. To my regret, this has been almost 
 passed over, or barely alluded to, in the Life lately pub 
 lished of Lord Jeffrey. 
 
35C MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 "EDINBURGH, Feb. 1CM, 1845. 
 
 DEAE SABA, 
 
 " I do not know when I have felt more moved and de 
 lighted, than when Professor Pillans came into my room 
 yesterday with a short letter from our beloved Sydney 
 (but in his wife s handwriting), cheerfully written ; and 
 saying, among other things, and in substance, that he 
 looked forward to his recovery, and at all events was 
 making very valuable progress : I think those were the 
 words. I need not tell you how sad we have all been 
 about him, nor what a gloom the accounts we have lately 
 received have thrown over the circle of his ancient friends. 
 While that lasted, I for one at least had not courage to 
 distress you by any inquiry ; but this letter has excited 
 a less painful anxiety, and I hope you will forgive me 
 for the trouble it leads me to give you. You can not over 
 estimate the interest I take in the oldest and truest of 
 my remaining friends ; and I believe I may say the same 
 of Murray. Do then, my clear child, let us know whether 
 we may not hope again. 
 
 "And believe me always affectionately yours, 
 
 "F. JEFFREY." 
 
 HAILEYBURY COLLEGE, HERTFORD, April 21, 1845. 
 " MY VERY DEAR SABA, 
 
 " I have felt several times in the last six weeks that 
 I ought to have written to some of you ; but in truth, my 
 dear child, I had not the courage ; and to-day it is not 
 so much because I have the courage, as because I can 
 not help it. 
 
 "That startling and matchless Fragment was laid 
 upon my table this morning ; and before I had read out 
 the first sentence, the real presence of my beloved and 
 incomparable friend was so brought before me, in all his 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 357 
 
 brilliancy, benevolence, and flashing decision, that I 
 seemed again to hear his voice and read in his eye, and 
 burst into an agony of crying. I went through the whole 
 in the same state of feeling : iny fancy kindled, and my 
 intellect illumined, but my heart struck through with the 
 sense of our loss, so suddenly arid so deeply impressed 
 by this seeming restoration. 
 
 " I do not think he ever wrote any thing so good, and 
 I feel mournfully that there is no one man alive who 
 could have so written. The eifect, I am persuaded, will 
 be greater than from any of his other publications : it is 
 a voice from the grave. And it may truly be said that 
 those who will not listen to it, would not be persuaded 
 though one were to rise from the dead. 
 
 " It relieves me to say all this, and you must forgive 
 it. Heaven bless you, my dear child ! With kind re 
 membrances from all here, 
 
 "Ever very affectionately yours, 
 
 "F. JEFFREY." 
 
 During the summer of this year, he received many 
 of his old friends ; and, among others, his eldest and 
 now only brother, Hobert, Mr. Hallam, and Mr. Ever- 
 \ ett, the American minister. Of this visit I find this 
 / touching notice in a letter of Mr. Everett s to my moth 
 er, on receiving the volume of posthumous sermons she 
 published : 
 
 " One of them I heard him preach in his little village 
 church at Combe Florey. The reading of it brings back 
 to me, in the freshest recollection, that delightful visit 
 one of the brightest spots in my English residence 
 though I am painfully affected by considering that the 
 two great men whose society I then enjoyed arc gone ; 
 men who, in their peculiar paths of eminence, have not 
 left their equals behind them." On another occasion 
 
358 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 Mr. Everett says : " The first remark that I made to 
 myself, after listening to Mr. Sydney Smith s conversa 
 tion, was, that if he had not been known as the wittiest 
 man of his day, he would have "been accounted one of 
 the wisest." 
 
 My father opened his house for a month to that poor, 
 interesting family for whom he had interceded with so 
 much success with Sir Eobert Peel, and who were pin 
 ing for a little fresh air. Among these was a clever, 
 imaginative little boy, by whom he was much interested. 
 Every evening he examined into his conduct during the 
 day ; and, if blameless, sent him to bed with a large 
 red wafer stuck in the middle of his forehead as a re 
 ward. The Order of the Garter could not have made 
 the child more proud. Once only, during his visit, did 
 he forfeit the red wafer, and went sobbing and broken 
 hearted to bed ; having been convicted, first, of cutting 
 off the whiskers of Muff, Annie Kay s favorite cat ; and 
 last, though not least, meddling with the poetical salad 
 when dressed. Such crimes could not, of course, be 
 pardoned ! 
 
 My father went, for a short time, in the autumn, to 
 the sea-side, complaining much of languor. He said, 
 "I feel so weak, both in body and mind, that I verily 
 believe, if the knife were put into my hand, I should 
 not have strength or energy enough to stick it into a 
 Dissenter." 
 
 In October my father was taken seriously ill; and 
 Dr. Holland went down immediately to Combe Florey, 
 and advised his coming up to town, where he might be 
 constantly under his care. He bore the journey well ; 
 and for the first two months, though very weak, went 
 out in his carriage every day, saw his friends, broke out 
 into moments of his natural gayety, saying one day, 
 with his bright smile, to General Fox (when they were 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 359 
 
 keeping him on very low diet, and not allowing him any 
 meat), " Ah, Charles ! I wish I were allowed even the 
 wing of a roasted butterfly ;" and was at times so like 
 his former self, that, though Dr. Holland was uneasy 
 about him, we could not give up hope. 
 
 But other and more urgent symptoms coming on, Dr. 
 Holland became so anxious, that he begged that Dr. 
 Chambers might be called in. My father most unwill 
 ingly consented not from any dislike of Dr. Chambers, 
 but from having the most perfect confidence in Dr. Hol 
 land s care and skill. 
 
 That evening he, for the first time, told his old maid 
 and nurse, Annie Kay, that he knew his danger ; said 
 where and how he should wish to be buried ; then spoke 
 of us all, but told her we must cheer him, and keep up 
 his spirits, if he lingered long. 
 
 But he had such a dread of sorrowful faces around 
 him, and of inflicting pain, that to us he always spoke 
 calmly and cheerfully, and as if unaware of his danger. 
 
 He now never left his bed. Though suffering much, 
 he was gentle, calm, and patient ; and sometimes even 
 cheerful. He spoke but little. Once he said to me, 
 taking my hand, "I should like to get well, if it were 
 only to please Dr. Holland ; it would, I know, make 
 him so happy ; this illness has endeared him so much 
 to me." 
 
 Speaking once of the extraordinary interest that had 
 been evinced by his friends for his recovery (for the 
 inquiries at his door were incessant) " It gives me 
 pleasure, I own," he said, "as it shows I have not mis 
 used the powers intrusted to me." But he was most 
 touched by the following letter from Lady Grey to my 
 mother, expressing the feelings toward him of one of 
 the friends he most loved arid honored one who was, 
 like himself, lying on that bed from which he was never 
 
360 MEMOIR OF THE KEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 to rise, and who was speaking as it were his farewell 
 before entering on eternity. 
 
 " Lord Grey is intensely anxious about him. There 
 is nobody of whom he so constantly thinks ; nobody 
 whom, in the course of his own long illness, he so ar 
 dently wished to see. Need I add, dear Mrs. Sydney, 
 that, excepting only our children, there is nobody for 
 whom we both feel so sincere an affection. God knows 
 how truly I feel for your anxiety. Who is so sadly 
 entitled to do so as I am ? But I will hope the best, 
 and that we may both be blessed by seeing the person 
 most dear to us restored to health." 
 
 One evening, when the room was half-darkened, and 
 he had been resting long in silence, and I thought him 
 asleep, he suddenly burst forth, in a voice so strong 
 and full that it startled us 
 
 " We talk of human life as a journey, but how vari 
 ously is that journey performed 1 There are some who 
 come forth girt, and shod, and mantled, to walk on 
 velvet lawns and smooth terraces, where every gale is 
 arrested, and every beam is tempered. There are others 
 who walk on the Alpine paths of life, against driving 
 misery, and through stormy sorrows, over sharp afflic 
 tions ; walk with bare feet, and naked breast, jaded, 
 mangled, and chilled." 
 
 And then he sank into perfect silence again. In quot 
 ing this beautiful passage from his sermon on Riches, 
 his mind seems to have turned to the long and hard 
 struggles of his own early life. 
 
 The present painful struggle did not last many days 
 longer. He often lay silent and lost in thought, then 
 spoke a few words of kindness to those around. He 
 seemed to meet death with that calmness which the 
 
MEMOIR OF TIIK KKV. SYDNEY" SMITH. 361 
 
 memory of a well-spent life, and trust in the mercy of 
 God, can alone give. 
 
 Almost the last person he saw was his favorite and 
 now only-surviving brother, Bobus ; and nothing could 
 be more affecting than to see these two brothers thus 
 parting on the brink of the grave ; for my dear uncle 
 only left my father s deathbed to lie down on his own 
 literally fulfilling the petition my father so touchingly 
 made to him in one of his early letters, on hearing of 
 his illness, "to take care of himself, and wait for him" 
 and before the end of a fortnight had followed him to 
 the grave. 
 
 "HlCSLINGTON, 1818. 
 
 " DEAII BOBUS, 
 
 " Pray take care of yourself. We shall both be a 
 brown infragrant powder in thirty or forty years. Let 
 us contrive to last out for the same, or nearly the same 
 time. Weary will the latter half of my pilgrimage be, 
 if you leave me in the lurch. Ever your affectionate 
 brother, SYDNEY SMITH." 
 
 Of the genius, learning, and virtue that were lost to 
 the world in that grave, I dare not attempt to speak ; it 
 belongs to other and abler pens than mine to tell ; but 
 to me my uncle s death was as the death of a second 
 father the extinction of all I have ever known or con 
 ceived that was brightest and best in the world. 
 
 A very eminent man, who had the rare privilege of 
 associating intimately with my uncle, writes of him to 
 Sir Henry Holland : "I never knew a mind with so 
 gigantic a grasp. Our talk when alone was always 
 most serious." 
 
 These beautiful and characteristic lines were found in 
 my uncle s desk, supposed to have been composed by 
 him shortly before his death : 
 VOL. L Q 
 
362 MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 " Hie jacet ! O huinanarum meta ultima rerum ! 
 Ultra quam labor et luctus curaique quiescunt, 
 Ultra quam penduntur opes et gloria flocci ; 
 Et redit ad nihilum vana hac et turbida vita : 
 Ut te respicerent homines ! Qua? bella per orbem, 
 Qui motus animorum et quanta pericula nostra 
 Acciperent facilem sine cade et sanguine finem ! 
 Tu mihi versare ante oculos, non tristis imago, 
 Sed monitrix, ut me ipse regain, domus haic mihi cum sit 
 Vestibulum tumuli, et senii penultima sedes." 
 
 " Hie jacet ! Oil last goal of human things, beyond 
 which labor and mourning and cares are at rest beyond 
 which riches and glory are weighed as nothing, and this 
 vain and turbid life returns to nought ! Oh that men 
 would thus regard thee ! What wars throughout the 
 world, what passions of the soul, how many dangers 
 besetting us, might so obtain an easy termination with 
 out slaughter or blood ! Mayest thou be present before 
 my eyes, not a mournful image, but an admonisher, 
 that I should regulate myself; since this house is tome 
 the vestibule of- the tomb, and the next to closing seat 
 of my old age ! " 
 
 My father died at peace with himself and with all the 
 world ; anxious, to the last, to promote the comfort and 
 happiness of others. He sent messages of kindness and 
 forgiveness to the few he thought had injured him. 
 Almost his last act was bestowing a small living of 
 120 per annum on a poor, worthy, and friendless 
 clergyman, who had lived a long life of struggle with 
 poverty on 40 per annum.* Full of happiness and 
 gratitude, he entreated he might be allowed to see my 
 father ; but the latter so dreaded any agitation that he 
 
 * In dictating a few words in his favor (for he was too weak to 
 write) to the Bishop of Llandaff, he says : " In addition to his other 
 merits, I am sure he will have one in your eyes, for he is an out-and- 
 out Ton-." So little did party feelings influence my father in bestow 
 ing preferment ! 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 3G3 
 
 most unwillingly consented, saying, " Then lie must not 
 thank me ; I am too weak to bear it." He entered 
 my father gave him a few words of advice the clergy 
 man silently pressed his hand, and blessed his death 
 bed. Surely such blessings are not given in vain! 
 
 My father expired on the 22d of February, 1845 
 his death caused by hydrothorax, or water on the chest, 
 consequent upon disease of the heart, which had prob 
 ably existed for a considerable time, but rapidly in 
 creased during the few months preceding his death. 
 His son closed his eyes. He was buried, by his own 
 desire, as privately as possible, in the cemetery of 
 Kensal Green ; where his eldest son, Douglas, arid now 
 my mother, repose by his side. 
 
 And if true greatness consists, as my dear and valued 
 old friend Mr. Hogers once quoted here from an ancient 
 Greek writer, "in doing what deserves to be written, 
 and writing what deserves to be read, and in making 
 mankind happier and better for your life," my father 
 was a truly great and good man. 
 
 My mother s anxiety to have a Memoir written of 
 my father had induced her to apply very soon after his 
 death to Mr. Moore, for his able assistance ; but upon 
 further consideration it was thought the event was then 
 too recent ; and before sufficient materials could be 
 collected, Mr. Moore s health rendered the task im 
 possible. The following letter refers to my mother s 
 request to Lord Jeffrey to contribute his recollections 
 of my father : 
 
 "JimeU, 1845. 
 
 "MY DEAR MRS. SMITH, 
 
 "I do not systematically destroy my letters, but I 
 take no care of them, and very few, I fear, have been 
 
364 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 preserved. I shall make a search, however, and send 
 you all I can. I was very glad to hear some time ago, 
 that Moore had agreed to assist in preparing the memo 
 rial, about which you are naturally so much interested. 
 He will do it, I am sure, in a right spirit, and with the 
 feeling which we are all anxious to see "brought to its 
 execution. Then he writes gracefully, is so great a 
 favorite with the public, that the addition of his name 
 can not fail to be a great recommendation. If it occurs 
 to me, on reflection, that there is any thing I can con 
 tribute in the way you suggest, I shall be most happy 
 to have my name once more associated with his on such 
 an occasion. You know it must always be a pleasure 
 to me to comply with any request of yours ; and the 
 form in which you wish this to be done, is certainly 
 that which I should prefer to any other. Yet the 
 models to which you refer, might ivell deter me from 
 attempting any thing that might lead to comparison.* 
 
 "I am glad to think of you at Munden,| rather than 
 in Green Street, in this charming weather ; and beg to be 
 most kindly remembered there to my beloved Emily and 
 all her belongings. 
 
 " I have not had much to boast of in the way of health 
 since my return, but have still been well enough hither 
 to to get through with my work. We are fixed here 
 now, I think, pretty much till winter, and expect to be 
 joined by Charley and her infant, in a fortnight. 
 "With kindest regards, 
 
 "Ever very affectionately yours, 
 
 " F. JEFFREY. 
 
 " CnAIGCROOK." 
 
 * Sydney s Letters to the Editors of Sir J. Mackintosh and Mr. 
 Ilorncr s Memoirs. 
 
 t Mr. Ilibbert s house in Hertfordshire. 
 
MEMOIR OF THE KEV. SYDNEY SMITH. 365 
 
 " DERBY. 
 
 " MY DEAR MRS. SYDNEY, 
 
 "Your kind note of the 12th came to me at the Euston 
 Hotel this morning, when I was in the act of sallying 
 forth to join the train which brought me here two hours 
 ago. So you see I could not possibly thank you any 
 earlier, for your kind inquiries ; nor gratify myself by 
 the interesting pilgrimage to Green Street, which I should 
 otherwise have undertaken with such a deep devotion of 
 feeling. I hope yet to live, however, to commune with 
 my heart at that shrine.* I am glad that Eddis has 
 been so successful. For calm and true expression, and 
 the rendering of w T hat is moral, rather than passionate, 
 in our natures, I think he is the first of our living art 
 ists. I have indeed been very ill and recover but slow 
 ly, though I have little actual suffering, and hope to be 
 a little less feeble and shabby yet before I die. Not 
 withstanding, I have no anxiety, nor low spirits, though 
 the animal vitality is at times low enough, God knows. 
 My affections and the enjoyment of beautiful nature, I 
 thank Heaven, arc as fresh and lively as in the first poet 
 ical days of my youth, and with these there is no 
 thing very miserable in the infirmity of age. We are 
 taking two of our grandchildren down with us, and I 
 hope to have the whole household reunited at Craigcrook 
 on the first days of July. They are all (except the poor 
 patriarch who tells you so) in the full flush of health 
 and gaycty, and would make a brightness in a darker 
 home than mine. 
 
 " Give my true and tender love to my dear Emily. 
 I often think of her in her early home at Foston, and in 
 that still earlier Yorkshire home, where she tempted me 
 to expose myself on the jackass. f 
 
 * A portrait of ray father, which Mr. Eddis had just pointed for my 
 mother. t Sec Narrative, p. 153. 
 
366 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 " With kind remembrances to Hibbert and all his 
 descendants, God bless you all, and always. 
 "Very affectionately yours, 
 
 "F. JEFFREY." 
 
 Hints on Female Education. 
 
 Though the subject of education is now much more 
 generally studied and understood than it was formerly, 
 yet the following slight hints, written at the request of 
 a very young mother, when my father was a very young- 
 man, may not be entirely without value and interest to 
 some young mother now ; and at least show how early 
 he felt the value and importance of education to women. 
 I received them too late to insert them in their proper 
 place. 
 
 " I am afraid, my dear madam, you will find in these 
 few hints little which you have not already anticipated, 
 and that their only merit will be, that intention of being 
 useful to your children by which they are dictated. 
 Your daughters will have a great deal to do, and you will 
 have a great deal to superintend ; and exertion on their 
 part, and inspection on yours, will lose very much of 
 their effects without a systematic distribution of time. 
 I can not compliment you with having been a great econ 
 omist of life. In your own instance indeed it is not of 
 much importance ; but the education of your daughters 
 ought to (and I am sure will) impose upon you a re 
 straint of natural propensities. If you wish to be use 
 ful to them, you must be active, persevering, and sys 
 tematic ; you must lay out the day in regular plots and 
 parterres ; and toil and relax at intervals, fixed as much 
 as your other affairs will permit. The consideration of 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 867 
 
 religion may perhaps be brought too frequently before 
 the minds of young people. Pleasure and consolation 
 through life may be derived from a judicious religious 
 education ; a mistaken zeal may embitter the future days 
 of a child with superstition, melancholy, and terror. 
 Short prayers at rising and going to bed ; a regular at 
 tendance at church ; the precepts of a mother as a friend, 
 sparingly and opportunely applied, appear to me to be 
 the best kind of foundation for the superstructure of reli 
 gion. It will be wise perhaps to teach them very early, 
 that Sunday is a day on which their ordinary studies 
 should be laid aside, and others of a more serious nature 
 attended to. What the religious books are which are to 
 be put into the hands of children, you know best ; but 
 there are some which, when their understandings become 
 more enlarged, your daughters should certainly read, 
 such as* . . . 
 
 " God has made us with strong passions and little 
 wisdom. To inspire the notion that infallible vengeance 
 will be the consequence of every little deviation from 
 our duty is to encourage melancholy and despair. Wo 
 men have often ill health and irritable nerves ; they want 
 moreover that strong coercion over the fancy which judg 
 ment exercises in the minds of men ; hence they are apt 
 to cloud their minds with secret fears and superstitious 
 presentiments. Check, my dear madam, as you value 
 their future comfort, every appearance of this in your 
 daughters ; dispel that prophetic gloom which dives into 
 futurity, to extract sorrow from days and years to come, 
 and which considers its own unhappy visions as the de 
 crees of Providence. We know nothing of to-morrow ; 
 our business is to be good and happy to-day. 
 
 * Omitted, because, since this period, works fitted for the young 
 have become so numerous and are so improved, that the list is of little 
 use. 
 
368 MEMOIR OF THE KEY. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 "One of the great practical goods which Christianity 
 is every day producing to society is that extreme atten 
 tion to the necessities of the poor, for which this coun 
 try is so remarkable. I hope you will give your daugh 
 ters a taste for active interference of this kind ; nothing 
 makes a woman so amiable and respectable. 
 
 " I would keep from my daughters immoral books, 
 skeptical books, and novels ; from which last I except 
 Sir C. Grandison. I confess I have a very great dread 
 of novels ; the general moral may be good, but they 
 dwell on subjects and scenes which it appears to me it 
 is the great object of female education to exclude. A 
 woman s heart does not want softening ; it is a strange 
 composition of tears, sighs, sorrows, ecstasies, fears, 
 smiles, etc., etc. a man is all flesh and blood. 
 
 " I hope at the proper time you will take your chil 
 dren into the world. It will please them, relieve them 
 from that painful shyness and embarrassment insepara 
 ble from a retired life, and give them the fair chance 
 they ought to have of settling to advantage. 
 
 "The accomplishments are of use, as they embellish 
 and occupy the mind ; but after all, they are subordin 
 ate points of education, and too much time may very 
 easily be given to them. It is very agreeable to look 
 at good drawings ; it is very delightful to hear good 
 music ; but good sense, sound judgment, and cultivated 
 understanding, are superior to every thing else they 
 make the good wife, the enlightened mother, the inter 
 esting companion. Do not suppose I am decrying ac 
 complishments. I am only giving them their just rank, 
 and guarding against that exclusive care and absorbent 
 eagerness with which it is at present the fashion to cul 
 tivate them. 
 
 "You mean to give your girls a taste for reading. 
 Nothing else can so well enable them to pass their lives 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 3G9 
 
 with dignity, with innocence, and with interest. Let us 
 go into detail, and see if we can chalk out a convenient 
 plan for them. They must learn French ; do you know 
 enough of this language to instruct them, or must they 
 have a master ? If the latter, the grammar, pronuncia 
 tion, etc., will Ibe his affair. In the choice of books it 
 will be very much in your power to direct them ; the 
 first will be easy, and suitable to children in point of 
 language ; such books abound you can not mistake 
 them ; then the whole field of French literature is open 
 for you to select from. For example, when you think 
 them old enough, and sufficiently acquainted with the 
 language, let them read Bourdaloue and Massillon s Ser 
 mons, Bossuet s Oraisons Funebres, Sermons of Father 
 Elisee, as specimens of the sacred eloquence of the 
 French ; let them read some of the best plays of Pierre 
 Corneille, Racine, Molierc, Voltaire s tragedies, some of 
 Boileau, particularly the Lutrin, the Henriade of Vol 
 taire. Supposing they wish to read French history, al 
 ways take care to make geography and chronology go 
 hand in hand with history, without which it is nothing 
 but a confused jumble of places and events. When they 
 have read the history of Greece and Rome, they should 
 not fail to read Plutarch s Lives ; one of the most de 
 lightful books antiquity has left us. They will of course 
 pay an early attention to the history of their own coun 
 try, which they will find curiously detailed in Henry, 
 philosophically in Hume, dryly and accurately in Rapin. 
 With the poets and dramatic writers of our own country 
 you are as well acquainted as myself. I hope they will 
 learn Italian. In arithmetic it does not appear to be of 
 consequence that they should go far, not further, per 
 haps, than compound division ; but I would certainly 
 endeavor, by much practice, to make them very dex 
 trous in the common operations of subtracting, multiply- 
 
 Q* 
 
37 MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 
 
 ing, and adding. It is of great importance to give them 
 correct notions in the common elements of geography 
 and astronomy, and to make them quite at their ease in 
 the use of maps : this will be done in very little time. 
 In the order of study, the acquirement of what is pre 
 paratory to general literature will first require your at 
 tention, as well as those which are of indispensable ne 
 cessity ; I mean writing, ciphering, French, geography, 
 spelling, etc. When these first difficulties are got over, 
 put them boldly on the Greek and Roman history in 
 the mornings, and poetry or belles lettres English or 
 French in the afternoons. Remark to them, encour 
 age them to make their remarks to you ; applaud, blame, 
 encourage, and use every little pious artifice in your 
 power to give them that sure, best, and happiest of all 
 worldly attainments a taste for literary improvement. 
 
 " I have recommended a division of studies into those 
 of the morning and evening, because I think it can be 
 very easily done without producing confusion, and it is 
 tedious to dwell upon one subject for a whole day. If 
 you can get them to read in a connected method, you 
 will have gained a point of great importance. For ex 
 ample, Spenser precedes Dryden, Pope, etc. ; and by 
 following this order of precedence, you see the improve 
 ment of language, and remark how each poet is indebted 
 to those who went before him. Voyages and travels, 
 and the history of modern Europe, would exhaust the 
 longest life. Botany they will be delighted with. 
 
 " I have given a list of some few books in the prin 
 cipal departments of knowledge, in case they should strike 
 into any one of them. The truth is, it is not important 
 what part of knowledge they love best. A woman who 
 loves history, is not more respectable than a woman who 
 loves natural philosophy ; either will afford innocent, dig^ 
 nificd, improving occupation. If they show no predilec- 
 
MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. 371 
 
 tion, then give them one: if they do, follow it. We 
 move most quickly to that point where we wish to go. 
 
 " Let your children see that you are sorry to restrain 
 them, happy to indulge them. Confess your ignorance 
 when they put questions to you which you can not an 
 swer, and refer them elsewhere ; and relax from your in 
 struction and authority in proportion as your children 
 want them less. I write positively, my dear madam, to 
 avoid the long and circuitous language of diffidence, not 
 "because I attach any value to my opinions. 
 
 "I have contented myself with general hints, because 
 in writing on these subjects it is no very difficult thing 
 to slip into a folio volume. I have omitted the mention 
 of many things which I know you will do well, and have 
 purposely introduced that of others where I have some 
 apprehensions of you. If it were not to make you an 
 offer unworthy of acceptance, I should say that my se 
 rious and most zealous advice is always at your command. 
 
 "Adieu, my dear madam; take courage, exert your 
 self. If there be one sight on earth which commands 
 interest, respect, and assistance from men, it is that of a 
 good mother, who, under the providence of God, exerts 
 her whole strength for the advantage and improvement 
 of her children. 
 
 " Your most sincere well-wisher, 
 
 " SYDNEY SMITH." 
 
TO 
 
 SYDNEY SMITH, 
 
 ONE OF THE BEST OF MEN. 
 HIS TALENTS, THOUGH ADMITTED BY HIS CONTEMPORARIES TO BE GREAT, 
 
 WERE SURPASSED BY 
 
 HIS UNOSTENTATIOUS BENEVOLENCE, HIS FEARLESS LOVE OK TRUTH, 
 
 AND HIS ENDEAVOR TO PROMOTE THE HAPPINESS OF MANKIND 
 
 BY RELIGIOUS TOLERATION 
 
 AND 
 
 BY RATIONAL FREEDOM. 
 HE WAS BORN THE 3D OF JUNE, 1771 ; HE BECAME CANON RESIDENTIARY 
 
 OF ST. PAUL S CATHEDRAL, 1831 ; HE DIED FEBRUARY THE 22D, 1815. 
 
 [On the opposite side of the Tomb.] 
 
 DOUGLAS SMITH, 
 
 THE ELDEST SON OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH, 
 
 AND OP 
 
 CATHARINE AMELIA, HIS WIFE. 
 HE WAS BORN FEBRUARY 27, 1805 ; HE DIED APRIL 15, 1829. 
 
 HIS LIFE WAS BLAMELESS. 
 
 HIS DEATH WAS THE FIRST SORROW 
 
 HE F.VKR OCCASIONED HIS PARENTS, 
 
 BUT IT WAS DEEP AND LASTING. 
 
LIST OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH S ARTICLES IN THE 
 EDINBURGH REVIEW. 
 
 Vol. 
 
 Art. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Vol. 
 
 Art. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Vol. 
 
 Art. 
 
 Page 
 
 
 o 
 
 18 
 
 12 
 
 9 
 
 151 
 
 32 
 
 6 
 
 389 
 
 
 3 
 
 24 
 
 13 
 
 2 
 
 25 
 
 33 
 
 3 
 
 68 
 
 
 9 
 
 83 
 
 13 
 
 5 
 
 77 
 
 33 
 
 5 
 
 91 
 
 
 12 
 
 94 
 
 13 
 
 4 
 
 333 
 
 34 
 
 ft 
 
 109 
 
 
 16 
 
 113 
 
 14 
 
 3 
 
 40 
 
 34 
 
 2 
 
 320 
 
 
 18 
 
 122 
 
 14 
 
 11 
 
 145 
 
 34 
 
 8 
 
 42 
 
 
 20 
 
 128 
 
 14 
 
 5 
 
 353 
 
 35 
 
 5 
 
 92 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 314 
 
 14 
 
 13 
 
 490 
 
 35 
 
 7 
 
 123 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 382 
 
 15 
 
 3 
 
 40 
 
 35 
 
 9 
 
 A 
 
 286 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 30 
 
 15 
 
 3 
 
 299 
 
 36 
 
 6 
 
 110 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 53 
 
 16 
 
 7 
 
 158 
 
 36 
 
 3 
 
 353 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 86 
 
 16 
 
 3 
 
 326 
 
 37 
 
 2 
 
 325 
 
 2 
 
 14 
 
 136 
 
 16 
 
 7 
 
 399 
 
 37 
 
 7 
 
 432 
 
 2 
 
 17 
 
 172 
 
 17 
 
 4 
 
 330 
 
 38 
 
 4 
 
 85 
 
 2 
 
 22 
 
 202 
 
 17 
 
 8 
 
 393 
 
 39 
 
 2 
 
 43 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 287 
 
 18 
 
 3 
 
 325 
 
 39 
 
 2 
 
 299 
 
 4> 
 
 *V 
 
 4 
 
 330 
 
 21 
 
 4 
 
 93 
 
 40 
 
 2 
 
 31 
 
 o 
 
 10 
 
 398 
 
 22 
 
 4 
 
 67 
 
 40 
 
 7 
 
 427 
 
 3 
 
 12 
 
 146 
 
 23 
 
 8 
 
 189 
 
 41 
 
 7 
 
 143 
 
 3 
 
 7 
 
 334 
 
 31 
 
 2 
 
 44 
 
 42 
 
 4 
 
 367 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 355 
 
 31 
 
 6 
 
 132 
 
 43 
 
 2 
 
 299 
 
 9 
 
 12 
 
 177 
 
 31 
 
 2 
 
 295 
 
 43 
 
 7 
 
 395 
 
 10 
 
 4 
 
 299 
 
 32 
 
 2 
 
 28 
 
 44 
 
 2 
 
 47 
 
 10 
 
 6 
 
 329 
 
 32 
 
 3 
 
 309 
 
 45 
 
 3 
 
 74 
 
 11 
 
 5 
 
 341 
 
 32 
 
 6 
 
 111 
 
 45 
 
 7 
 
 423 
 
 12 
 
 5 
 
 82 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Absence of mind, page 320, 321. 
 
 Abstraction, power of, 109. 
 
 Allen, Mr., recommendation of, to Lord 
 Holland, 30. 
 
 Amalgams, moral, 193. 
 
 America, reported visit to, 269 
 
 Animals, interest in, 111, 112, 158; medi 
 cine administered to, 111 ; scratcher for, 
 112. 
 
 Apologue on Toleration, 195, 196 ; letter 
 of Mr. Everett relating to, 196. 
 
 Apothecary s shop, 315, 346. 
 
 Arms of the Smith family, 217. 
 
 Austin s (Mrs.) account of sermon at St. 
 Paul s, 273. 
 
 Ballot, pamphlet on the, 286. 
 
 Banker, dining with a, 347. 
 
 Belgium, visit to, 226, 227 ; interview with 
 
 the King of, 226. 
 
 Benevolence, fragment on, 124, 125. 
 Berkeley Chapel, morning preachership at, 
 
 79. 
 
 Berry, Miss, Ode by, 83 ; visit to, 235. 
 Bible names, 308. 
 Birth and ancestry, 13, 14. 
 Bishop, duties of a, 211 ; marriage of a, 230. 
 Bishopric, views with regard to a, 209, 210, 
 
 21 1-, probability of elevation to, 218. 
 Bishopthorpe, visit to, 160, 161. 
 Blind, sermon for the, 57. 
 Blinds, colored patchwork, 161. 
 Bobus. See Smith, Robert. 
 Body, the, a fragment on, 117. 
 Books, love of, 163, 214. 
 Bristol, becomes Canon of, 194 ; sermon 
 
 at the Cathedral, 194 ; popularity at, 206 ; 
 
 riots at, 206. 
 
 Bunch, 145, 161, 168, 175. 
 Business habits, 109, 347. 
 
 Calamity, horse so named, 158. 
 
 Carlisle, Lady, lines by, 292. 
 
 Carlisle, Lord, commencement of friend 
 ship of, 152 ; frequent visits of, 153. 
 
 Catholic Emancipation, petition for, 181 ; 
 speech in favor of, 183. 
 
 Cheerfulness, remarks on, 123. 
 
 Chess, 192. 
 
 Children, fondness for, 108, 113, 312; in 
 terest in the pursuits of, 108, 249. 
 
 Chimneys, smoky, 1 12. 
 
 Cholera, spread of the, 214. 
 
 Christianity, evidences of, 56 ; tolerant 
 spirit of, 57. 
 
 Christmas-day at Combe Florey, 349, 350. 
 
 Church, state of the, 32. 
 
 Classes of society, 336. 
 
 Clergyman, poor, living obtained for a, 362. 
 
 Club, the, 88, 89. 
 
 Cockerell, Mr., letter from, on performance 
 of duties as Canon of St. Paul s, 221. 
 
 Combe Florey, removal to, 202 ; rebuilds 
 parsonage-house, 204 ; visit of Lord Jef 
 frey, 204 ; library at, 214 ; visit of Lord 
 John Russell, 214, 215; mode of life at, 
 293 ; Christmas-day at, 349 ; sermon at, 
 351 ; last return to, 358. 
 
 Composition, rapid, habit of, 106. 
 
 Court, presentation at, 199. 
 
 Courtenay Smith, death of, 249. 
 
 Curacy on Salisbury Plain, 21 ; the squire, 
 
 Dandy, thawing a, 164. 
 
 Dante, tortures described by, 237. 
 
 Davy, Lady, visit of, 142. 
 
 Deer, parsonic, 305. 
 
 Delinquents, juvenile, 150. 
 
 Denman, Lord, 314. 
 
 Diary, portions of, 114-117. 
 
 Dining out in the country, 136. 
 
 Dogs, dislike of, 180, 334. 
 
 Donkey, a favorite, 140. 
 
 Douglas Smith, birth of. 67 ; sent to West 
 minster School, 164 ; goes to Oxford, 178 ; 
 death, 201 ; letter to Lady Wenlock re 
 lating to his death, 202. 
 
 Dryden s house, 237. 
 
 Dudley, Lord, anecdotes of, 321, 322. 
 
 Ecclesiastical Commission, contest with 
 the, 241. 
 
 Ecclesiastical Duties and Revenues Bill, 
 petition against, 244. 
 
 Economy practiced, 184. 
 
 Edgeworth, Miss, visit of, to London, 274 ; 
 letter from, 275 ; conversation of, 346. 
 
 Edinburgh, society at, 23 ; residence at, 23, 
 62, 346. 
 
 Edinburgh Review, origin of, 31 ; state of 
 society at the establishment of, 32 ; mor 
 al courage in contributing to, 32 ; char 
 acter of writings in, 37-43 ; Sydney 
 Smith ceases to write for, 205 ; publica 
 tion of his contributions to, 205. 
 
376 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Edmonton, the living of, 257 ; address of 
 
 parishioners, 258; letter to the Bishop 
 
 of London relating to, 260. 
 Education, 38 ; importance of religious, 58 ; 
 
 views on, 283, 297, 317 ; female, hints 
 
 on, 366. 
 
 Ellenborough, Lord, anecdote of, 332. 
 Erasmus, life of, 280, 281. 
 Everett, Mr., visit of, 357 
 Exchange of living, efforts to obtain, 104, 
 
 141. 
 
 Fallacies, 318. 
 
 Farmers, annual dinner to, 110. 
 
 Female education, hints on, 366. 
 
 Filial affection, instance of, 169. 
 
 Fireplaces, importance of, 232, 233. 
 
 Fishmongers Hall, invitation to dine at, 
 101. 
 
 Flowers, love of, 230. 
 
 Foston-Ie-Clay, obtains the living of, 96; 
 induction, 97 ; conversation at the Arch 
 bishop s, 97 ; compelled to reside on liv 
 ing, 102; resolves to build, 103; com 
 mences building, 143 ; house completed, 
 147 ; the household, 148, 149, 163 , ac 
 count of a visit, by a clergyman, 188 ; 
 Mr. Loch s opinion of the parsonage- 
 house, 204 ; revisited, 249. 
 
 Foundling Hospital, appointed to the 
 preachership of the, 69 ; anecdote, 90. 
 
 Fox, Miss, 220. 
 
 Franklin, admiration of, 312. 
 
 Friendship, remarks on, 122. 
 
 Fry, Mrs., a visit with, to Newgate, 151. 
 
 Game-laws, 39, 150. 
 
 Garden chair, 322 ; lines on receiving, 291. 
 
 Gardens for the poor, 112. 
 
 Grattan, Mr., death of, 171 ; character of, 
 171. 
 
 Grenville, Mr., old age of, 234, 324 ; letter 
 from, 254. 
 
 Grey, Lord, first visit to, 101 ; fall of his 
 administration, 218; proposed inscrip 
 tion for monument to, 247. 
 
 Handwriting, badness of, 174. 
 
 Happiness, recipe for, 261. 
 
 Hardness of character, 262. 
 
 Harvest, failure of, in 1816. 155. 
 
 Hatherton, Lord, letter to, 194. 
 
 Heslington, residence at, 105 ; mode of life 
 at, 105 ; visits of friends, 133. 
 
 Hints, historical, 129. 
 
 Holland, Lord, friendship of, 78, 92 ; letter 
 from, relating to Plymley s Letters, 100 ; 
 visits Foston, 156 ; offers the living of 
 Ampthill, 160; letter to, relative to a 
 bishopric, 210; death of, 250; portrait 
 of, 251. 
 
 Holland House, first visit to, 77 ; society 
 at, 77. 
 
 Holland, Dr., attendance of, in last illness, 
 358. 
 
 Holland, tour in, 225, 226. 
 
 Horner, L., first acquaintance with, 26, 27 ; 
 character of, 27, 154 ; removal to London, 
 88 ; declining health and death, 154 ; let 
 ter of Sydney Smith to his brother, 154. 
 
 Humor, instances of want of perception 
 
 of, 238, 324. 
 Hunt, trial of, 170. 
 
 Immortal, the, 146, 151, 190, 191. 
 
 Immortality, evidence of, 56. 
 
 Impertinence, official, 175. 
 
 Innocence vindicated, 218. 
 
 Ireland, condition of, 99 ; sketch of English 
 
 misrule in, 131. 
 Irreligion, abhorrence of, 185. 
 Italian refugee, marriage of an, 159. 
 
 Jeffrey, Lord, visit of, at Heslington, 137, 
 140 ; lines on, 141 ; visit to, at Edin 
 burgh, 173 ; letters to, on the principles 
 of the Edinburgh Review, 185 ; visit to 
 Combe Florey, 204 ; Sydney Smith s re 
 gard for, 345 ; letters from, during last 
 illness, 356 ; letters relating to Memoir, 
 363. 
 
 Johnson, Dr., anecdote of, 109. 
 
 Journal of a Lady, 279 ; of a Scotch friend, 
 345. 
 
 Justice, love of, 36, 209. 
 
 Justice of the Peace, Sydney Smith be 
 comes a, 150. 
 
 Kay, Annie, 148, 163, 314, 359. 
 
 Labels, doctors , 330. 
 
 Lectures, extracts from, 44-46 ; delivery 
 
 of, at the Royal Institution, 80; public 
 
 interest excited by, 80-82. 
 Legacy, 173. 
 Lemons, store of, 315. 
 Leyden, Mr., 29. 
 
 Liberal opinions, advocacy of, 34 ; penal 
 ties attending, 35. 
 Liberty, views respecting, 34. 
 License for a chapel, efforts to obtain, 70 ; 
 
 correspondence relating to, 70-76 
 Life, how usually spent, 282. 
 Londesborough, obtains the living of, 183. 
 London, removal to, 67 ; society in, C8, 77, 
 
 86, 229, 231. 
 Longevity, 280. 
 
 Lucan, a copy of, sent to Mr. Grenville. 254. 
 Luttrell, Mr., visit of, 329. 
 Lyndhurst, Lord, visit of, 170 ; promotion 
 
 by, 193, 194 ; renewed kindness of, 201, 
 
 202. 
 
 Macaulay, Mr., letter from, on English mis 
 rule in Ireland, 131 ; opinion of, 320. 
 
 Mackintosh, Sir J., anecdote of, 87 ; return 
 of, from India, 138 ; visit of, at Hesling 
 ton, 138 ; at Foston, 176 ; Sydney Smith s 
 regard for, 176, 215 ; death of, 215 ; char 
 acter, 216 ; correspondence with, 210 ; 
 remarks on, 337, 340 ; imitation of a 
 speech of, 341. 
 
 Manners, on the neglect of, as a part of 
 education, 317. 
 
 Marcet, Dr. and Mrs., visit of, 166; inci 
 dents related by Mrs. Marcet, 166, 168, 
 293 ; letter from, 260. 
 
 Marion de Lorme, letter of, 338. 
 
 Marriage, 27, 28 ; office for, 311 ; definition 
 of, 320, 
 
INDEX. 
 
 377 
 
 Maxims and ruins of life, 114. 
 
 Medicine, study and practice of, 64. 05. Ill, 
 
 219, 314. 
 
 Melancholy, remedy for, 342. 
 Mind, the, a fragment on, 128. 
 Missions, opinion of, 331. 
 Moore, T., visit of, 254 ; letters from, 255 ; 
 
 requested to write Memoir, 363. 
 Moral philosophy, study of, 05 ; lectures 
 
 on, 80. 
 Murray s (Lord) sketch of Sydney Smith, 
 
 289. 
 Music, remark on, 342. 
 
 Nethcrhaven, curacy of, 20 ; life at, 21 ; 
 
 intimacy with the squire, 22. 
 New Zealand, advice to a Bishop of, 337. 
 Newton, Sir Isaac, an ancestor, 15. 
 Nice person, definition of a, 177. 
 North Pole, Jeffrey and the, 26. 
 
 Occupation, incessant, 106; essay on, 119. 
 Olier, Miss, character of, 14. 
 Opinions, moderation of, 33. 
 
 Paris, visit to, 184. 
 
 Parish-clerk at Foston, 103. 
 
 Parishioners, advice to, 299. 
 
 Parsonage-house at Foston, account of 
 building the, 144 ; removal to, 147. 
 
 Partington, Mrs., 215. 
 
 Paul s, St., becomes Canon of, 215 ; letter 
 from Mr. Cockcrell relating to Canonry, 
 221 ; remarks of the Dean, 225. 
 
 Peasantry, significance of words used by 
 the, 304. 
 
 Peel, Sir Robert, correspondence with, 
 277. 
 
 Peter the Cruel, 105, 111. 
 
 Philips, Sir G., visit to, 151. 
 
 Pictures, purchase of, 93 ; appreciation of, 
 239, 240. 
 
 Plymley s Letters, appearance of, 98 ; pub 
 lic interest in, 98 ; letter from Lord Hol 
 land relating to, 100. 
 
 Poor, sympathy with the, 311, 340, 347. 
 
 Pope, parody on, 331. 
 
 Preaching at St. Paul s, impression pro 
 duced by, 272 ; at Combe Florey, 275. 
 
 Preferment, letters on, 209-211. 
 
 Promotion, hopes of, 186 ; letter on, 187 ; 
 becomes Canon of Bristol, 193 ; and of 
 St. Paul s, 215. 
 
 Pybus, Miss, marriage to. 27. 
 
 Quaker, roasting a, 135. 
 Quakers, heroic conduct of, 156. 
 
 Raven, anecdote of a, 281. 
 
 Reading, rapid, habit of, 106. 
 
 Religious views, 55. 
 
 Repudiation, American, 263 ; Mr. Tick- 
 nor s letter on, 264. 
 
 Residence Bill, passing of the, 101. 
 
 Riding, unskillful, 156, 161. 
 
 Robin, M., article by, in the "Revue des 
 Deux Mondcs," 353 ; correspondence re 
 lating to, 353-355. 
 
 Rogers, Mr., visits Foston, 150 ; illness of, 
 170. 
 
 Romilly, Sir S., visit of, at Heslington, 133 ; 
 sermon on the death of, 134. 
 
 Royal Institution, lectures at the, on Mor 
 al Philosophy, 80. 
 
 Russell, Lord John, letter to, 210 ; reply 
 of, 210. 
 
 Salad, recipe for, 329. 
 
 Scotch, regard for the, 24 ; peculiarities of 
 the, 24. 
 
 Scratcher, the universal, 112. 
 
 Screaming gate, the, 309. 
 
 Sermons, preface to, 46-55 ; characteristics 
 of, 59-62 ; effect produced by, 79 ; pub 
 lishes two volumes of, 104 ; preached at 
 York, 179. 
 
 Sevigne, Madame de, 331. 
 
 Shaking hands, lesson on, 310. 
 
 Sheridan, dining with, 325. 
 
 Shooting, objections to, 133. 
 
 Shopping, 160. 
 
 Shyness, 233, 324. 
 
 Siddons, Mrs., 92, 332. 
 
 Singing, fondness for, 192. 
 
 Sister, death of, 153. 
 
 Sketches, a few unfinished, 117. 
 
 Smith, Robert, return of, from India, 138 ; 
 remarkable conversational powers of, 
 139; Indian fame of, 139; visit of, at 
 Heslington, 139 ; illness, 139 ; visit to his 
 brother during last illness, 361 ; death, 
 361 ; character, 361 ; lines written by, 
 362. 
 
 Smith, Robert, sen., singular character of, 
 13, 14 ; visit to, 170. 
 
 Smith, Sydney: birth and ancestry, 13; 
 early character, 16 ; school days at Win 
 chester, 18 ; goes to Oxford, 19 ; resi 
 dence in France, 19 ; college life, 20 ; 
 choice of a profession, 20, 21 ; becomes 
 a curate on Salisbury Plain, 21 ; engaged 
 as tutor by Mr. Beach, 22, 02 ; arrival at 
 Edinburgh, 23; marriage, 27; his for 
 tune, 28 ; early housekeeping, 28 ; gen 
 erosity, 29 ; birth of a daughter, 30 ; mor 
 al courage, 32 ; freedom from crude opin 
 ions, 33 ; illness of daughter, 63 ; stud 
 ies medicine, 05 ; quits Edinburgh, CO ; 
 birth of son, 07 ; removal to London, 07 ; 
 cheerfulness, 92, 200 ; obtains the rec 
 tory of Foston, 90 ; removes to Sunning, 
 98 ; compelled to reside on living, 102 ; 
 leaves London, 104 ; removes to Hesling 
 ton, 105 ; visits London, 138 ; generosity 
 of character, 138, 139, 102; commences 
 building, 143 ; birth of second son, 146 ; 
 removal to Foston, 147 ; the living of 
 Ampthill offered, 160 ; visits Edinburgh, 
 165, 173 ; visit to his brother in London, 
 174; improved circumstances, 183; vis 
 its Paris, 184 ; hopes of promotion, 186 ; 
 marriage of youngest daughter, 193 ; be 
 comes Canon of Bristol, 193 ; resigns 
 Foston, and removes to Combe Florey, 
 202 ; ceases writing for the Edinburgh 
 Review, 205 ; publishes his contribu 
 tions, 205; marriage of eldest daugh 
 ter, 217 ; christens granddaughter, 220 ; 
 takes a house in London, 220; revisits 
 Paris, 221 ; fragments of conversation, 
 
378 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 230-241 ; return to Combe Florey, 248 ; 
 unexpected wealth, 249 ; revisits Fos- 
 ton, 249 ; mode oflife at Combe Florey, 
 293, 342, 347 ; habits of study, 326 ; last 
 return to London, 352 ; goes to the sea 
 side, 358 ; last illness, 358 , anxiety of 
 friends, 359 ; visit of his brother Robert, 
 361. 
 
 Somersetshire, climate of, 306. 
 
 Squire, a country, 144. 
 
 Stae l, Madame de, visits England, 1?8; 
 becomes acquainted with Mr Robert 
 Smith, 139. 
 
 Stewart, Dugald, death of, 239. 
 
 Stomach-pump, 316. 
 
 Stowell, Lord, 100. 
 
 Study, plans of, 107. 
 
 Style, beauty of, 297. 
 
 Suppers, weekly, 86; the country cousin, 87. 
 
 Swing, Letters to, 212. 
 
 Talleyrand, anecdote of, 16 ; acquaintance 
 with, 185 ; conversation of, 228 ; opinion 
 of his wit, 228. 
 
 Taunton, speech at county meeting held 
 at, 207 , eflect produced by, 208 
 
 Taylor, Jeremy, apologue by, on Tolera 
 tion, 195, 196. 
 
 Thomson, Mrs., letter to, relating to the 
 death of his son, 202. 
 
 Ticknor, Mr., letter of, on repudiation, 264. 
 
 Toleration, 57 ; sermon on, in the Temple 
 Church, 90; and in the Cathedral at 
 Bristol, 194, 195; Taylor s apologue in 
 illustration of, 195, 196. 
 
 Traveling, amusing incidents of, 165. 
 
 Turtle, stroking a, 240 ; riding on a, 351. 
 
 Utilitarians, 296. 
 
 Van de Weyer, M., 227 ; letters to, 271, 
 286, 288 : visit of, 287 ; letter from, re 
 lating to M. Robin, 353. 
 
 Visitation sermon, 161. 
 
 Volunteers, sermon to, 69 
 
 Vulgarity, freedom from , 43. 
 
 Wainwright, Rev. J. M., of New York, let 
 ter from, 269. 
 
 Wealth, views of, 350. 
 
 Webster, Mr. Daniel, correspondence with, 
 251. 
 
 Wenlock, Lady, letter to, 202. 
 
 Whishaw, Mr., letter to, on the doath of 
 Homer, 154. 
 
 Winchester School, 17. 
 
 Writings, character and subjects of his, 
 37-43. 
 
 York, residence near, 104 ; streets of, 105 ; 
 the assizes at, 170, 179 ; sermons preach 
 ed at the Cathedral, 179. 
 
 END OF VOLUME I. 
 

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