showed a recovery. _Kenilworth_ and _The Pirate_ followed in 1821, _The Fortunes of Nigel_ in 1822; _Peveril of the Peak_, _Quentin Durward_, and _St. Ronan’s Well_ in 1823; _Redgauntlet_ in 1824, and _Tales of the Crusaders_ (_The Betrothed_ and _The Talisman_) in 1825. By this time S. had long reached a pinnacle of fame such as perhaps no British man of letters has ever attained during his lifetime. He had for a time been the most admired poet of his day, and though latterly somewhat eclipsed by Byron, he still retained great fame as a poet. He also possessed a great reputation as an antiquary, one of the chief revivers of interest in our ancient literature, and as the biographer and ed. of several of our great writers; while the incognito which he maintained in regard to his novels was to many a very partial veil. The unprecedented profits of his writings had made him, as he believed, a man of wealth; his social prestige was immense; he had in 1820 been made a baronet, when that was still a real distinction, and he had been the acknowledged representative of his country when the King visited it in 1822. All this was now to change, and the fabric of prosperity which he had raised by his genius and labour, and which had never spoiled the simplicity and generosity of his character, was suddenly to crumble into ruin with, however, the result of revealing him as the possessor of qualities even greater and nobler than any he had shown in his happier days. The publishing and printing firms with which he had been connected fell in the commercial crisis of 1826, and S. found himself at 55, and with failing health, involved in liabilities amounting to L130,000. Never was adversity more manfully and gallantly met. Notwithstanding the crushing magnitude of the disaster and the concurrent sorrow of his wife’s illness, which soon issued in her death, he deliberately set himself to the herculean task of working off his debts, asking only that time might be given him. The secret of his authorship was now, of course, revealed, and his efforts were crowned with a marvellous measure of success. _Woodstock_, his first publication after the crash, appeared in the same year and brought L8000; by 1828 he had earned L40,000. In 1827 _The Two Drovers_, _The Highland Widow_, and _The Surgeon’s Daughter_, forming the first series of _Chronicles of the Canongate_, appeared together with _The Life of Napoleon_ in 9 vols., and the first series of _Tales of a Grandfather_; in 1828 _The Fair Maid of Perth_ and the second series of _Tales of a Grandfather_, _Anne of Geierstein_, a third series of the _Tales_, and the commencement of a complete ed. of the novels in 1829; a fourth and last series of _Tales_, _History of Scotland_, and other work in 1830. Then at last the overworked brain gave way, and during this year he had more than one paralytic seizure. He was sent abroad for change and rest, and a Government frigate was placed at his disposal. But all was in vain; he never recovered, and though in temporary rallies he produced two more novels, _Count Robert of Paris_ and _Castle Dangerous_, both in 1831, which only showed that the spell was broken, he gradually sank, and _d._ at Abbotsford on September 21, 1832.
The work which S. accomplished, whether looked at as regards its mass or its quality, is alike marvellous. In mere amount his output in each of the four departments of poetry, prose fiction, history and biography, and miscellaneous literature is sufficient to fill an ordinary literary life. Indeed the quantity of his acknowledged work in other departments was held to be the strongest argument against the possibility of his being the author of the novels. The achievement of such a result demanded a power of steady, methodical, and rapid work almost unparalleled in the history of literature. When we turn to its quality we are struck by the range of subject and the variableness of the treatment. In general there is the same fulness of mind directed by strong practical sense and judgment, but the style is often heavy, loose, and even slipshod, and in most of his works there are “patches” in which he falls far below his best. His poetry, though as a whole belonging to the second class, is full of broad and bold effects, picturesqueness, and an irresistible rush and freshness. As a lyrist, however, he stands much higher, and in such gems as “Proud Maisie” and “A weary lot is thine, Fair Maid,” he takes his place among our greatest singers. His chief fame rests, of course, upon the novels. Here also, however, there is the same inequality and irregularity, but there is a singular command over his genius in virtue of which the fusing, creating imagination responds to his call, and is at its greatest just where it is most needed. For the variety, truth, and aliveness of his characters he has probably no equal since Shakespeare, and though, of course, coming far behind, he resembles him alike in his range and in his insight. The most remarkable feature in his character is the union of an imagination of the first order with practical sagacity and manly sanity, in this also resembling his great predecessor.
SUMMARY.–_B._ 1771, _ed._ Edin., called to Bar 1792, Sheriff of Selkirk 1799, Principal Clerk of Session 1812, first _pub._ translation of _Lenore_, etc., wrote ballads and made translation from German, _pub. Minstrelsy of Scottish Border_ 1802-3, _Lay of Last Minstrel_ 1805, began _Waverley_ 1805, partner with Ballantynes 1806, _pub._ _Marmion_ 1808, _Lady of Lake_ 1810, began to build Abbotsford 1812, Waverley novels began and continued 1814-31, health began to fail 1817, made Baronet 1820, ruined by failure of Ballantynes 1826, devotes rest of his life to clearing off debt by novels and historical works, _Tales of a Grandfather_, _Life of Napoleon_, etc., health finally gave way 1830, _d._ 1832.
The great authority is the _Life_ by Lockhart, but it has been supplemented by the _Journal_ (1890) and _Letters_ (1893). Short _Lives_ by C. Gilfillan, R.H. Hutton, etc., etc.
SCOTT, WILLIAM BELL (1811-1890).–Poet and painter, _s._ of Robert S., an engraver, and brother of David S., painter, _b._ in Edin., settled in London, and painted chiefly historical subjects. He _pub._ five vols. of poetry, including _Hades_ and _The Year of the World_, and many fine sonnets, a form of poetry in which he excelled, and in prose _Half-hour Lectures on Art_ and _The Little Masters_ in the Great Artists Series. He also ed. a series of “English Poets,” and wrote a Life of his brother and one of Albrecht Duerer, etc.
SEDLEY, SIR CHARLES (1639?-1701).–Poet, _s._ and heir of a Kentish baronet, was at Oxf. and, coming to the Court of Charles II., became one of the most popular and brilliant members of its dissipated circles. He was the author of two tragedies and three comedies, now forgotten, though extravagantly lauded in their day, and of some poems and songs, of which the best known are _Phyllis_ and _Chloris_. His only child was the witty and profligate Catherine S., mistress of James II., who created her Countess of Dorset. _Bellamira_ and _The Mulberry Garden_, founded respectively on Terence and Moliere, are his best plays. His prose in pamphlets and essays is better than his verse.
SEELEY, SIR JOHN ROBERT (1834-1895).–Historian and essayist, _s._ of a publisher in London, _ed._ at City of London School and Camb. In 1863 he became Prof. of Latin at Univ. Coll., London, and was Prof. of Modern History at Camb. from 1869 until his death. In 1865 appeared anonymously _Ecce Homo_, a work which created intense excitement and keen controversy in the theological and religious world. Other works were _The Life and Times of Stein_, the Prussian statesman (1879), _Natural Religion_ (1882), _The Expansion of England_ (1883), _Life of Napoleon_ (1885), and a work on Goethe. _The Growth of British Policy_ (1895) was left finished but unrevised at his death. In recognition of his services to the empire in his political writings he was, in 1894, made K.C.M.G.
SELDEN, JOHN (1584-1654).–Jurist and scholar, _b._ near Worthing, Sussex, the _s._ of a farmer who was also a musician, _ed._ at Chichester and Oxf., and studied law at Clifford’s Inn and the Inner Temple. His learning soon attracted attention and, though practising little, he was consulted on points involving legal erudition. His first work, _Analecton Anglo-Britannicon_, a chronological collection of English records down to the Norman invasion, was written in 1606, though not _pub._ till 1615. In 1610 appeared a treatise on the _Duello, or Single Combat_; and in 1614 his largest English work on _Titles of Honour_, full of profound learning, and still a high authority. Three years later, 1617, he wrote in Latin his treatise, _De Deis Syris_ (on the Gods of Syria), an inquiry into polytheism, specially with reference to the false deities mentioned in Scripture. His reputation as a scholar had now become European. In 1618 he incurred the indignation of the King and the clergy by his _History of Tithes_, in which he denied their claim to be a divine institution. Called before the High Commission he made a statement regretting the publication of the book though not withdrawing any of its statements. In 1621 he suffered a brief imprisonment for withstanding some of James’s doctrines as to the privileges of Parliament. Two years later he was elected member for Lancaster. As a politician his views were moderate, and all along he endeavoured to repress the zeal of the extremists on both sides. He was imprisoned in the Tower for four years, 1630-34. During the final struggle of King and Parliament he was much employed; but like most men of moderate views, was frequently under suspicion, and after the execution of the King, to which he was strongly opposed, he took little to do with public matters. He was a lay member of the Westminster Assembly, 1643, where his profound knowledge of the original tongues made him somewhat of a terror to certain extremists among the divines. He had at an early age been appointed steward to the Earl of Kent, and at the house of his widow, with whom he had long lived in such close friendship as to give rise to the belief that they were _m._, he _d._ Among other works may be mentioned a description of the Arundel Marbles (1629), a treatise concerning the Jewish calendar (1646), and, specially, his _Table Talk_, _pub._ 1689, of which Coleridge said “there is more weighty bullion sense in this book than I can find in the same number of pages of any uninspired writer.” He was likewise the author of various treatises on constitutional matters and the law of nations, including _Mare Clausum_ (a Closed Sea), in defence of the property of England in its circumfluent seas. Most of these were written in Latin.
_Coll. Works_ with _Life_, Dr. Wilkins (3 vols., folio, 1726), Aikin’s _Lives_ of Selden and Ussher.
SELLAR, WILLIAM YOUNG (1825-1890).–Scholar, _b._ in Sutherlandshire, his _f._ being factor to the Duke of Sutherland, _ed._ at Glasgow Univ. and Oxf., became in 1859 Prof. of Greek at St. Andrews and, in 1863, of Latin at Edin. He _pub._ a work on the _Roman Poets of the Republic_ (1863), followed by _The Roman Poets of the Augustan Age_. Both of these hold a high place among modern works of scholarship.
SEMPILL, ROBERT (1530?-1595), SEMPILL, ROBERT (1595?-1659?), SEMPILL, FRANCIS (1616?-1682).–Scottish poets, all belonging to the same family, the last two being _f._ and _s._ The first was mainly a satirist, was in Paris at the massacre of St. Bartholomew, and belonged to the extremist division of the Reforming party, _The Regente’s Tragedy_ laments the death of Murray, _Ane Complaint upon Fortoun_, the fall of Morton. The second Robert wrote _The Life and Death of Habbie Simson, the Piper_, a humorous description of old Scottish life. Francis wrote occasional pieces. The song _She Rose and let me in_, formerly attributed to him, is now known to be by Tom D’Urfey (_q.v._).
SENIOR, NASSAU WILLIAM (1790-1864).–Economist and essayist, _s._ of a clergyman, was _b._ at Compton Beauchamp, Berks, _ed._ at Eton and Oxf., studied law, and was called to the Bar in 1819. He twice held the Professorship of Political Economy at Oxf., 1825-30 and 1847-52, rendered important service as a member of the Poor Law Commission of 1833, and wrote its Report. S. holds a high position among English economists, and made many contributions to the literature of the science, including _Outline of the Science of Political Economy_ (1836). He was, moreover, a writer of considerable versatility, his works in general literature including _Essays on Fiction_ (1864), _Historical and Philosophical Essays_ (1865), and specially his notes of conversations with many eminent persons, chiefly political, _e.g._, De Tocqueville, Thiers, and Guizot, which combine fulness of information with discretion; he also _pub._ journals of his travels in Turkey, Greece, Egypt, etc.
SETTLE, ELKANAH (1648-1724).–Poet and dramatist, _ed._ at Oxf., was the author of a number of turgid dramas, now unreadable and unread, but which in their day were held to rival Dryden, who pilloried S. as Doeg in the second part of _Absalom and Achitophel_. S. essayed a reply in _Absalom Senior_. He wrote against the Papists, but recanted, and made amends by a _Narrative of the Popish Plot_, in which he exposed the perjuries of Titus Oates. He was appointed City Poet. Latterly he had a booth in Bartholomew Fair. He _d._ in the Charterhouse. His plays include _Cambyses_ (1666), _Empress of Morocco_ (1671), _Love and Revenge_ (1675), _The Female Prelate_, _Distressed Innocence_ (1691), and the _Ladies’ Triumph_ (1718).
SHADWELL, THOMAS (1640 or 1642-1692).–Dramatist and poet, belonged to a good Staffordshire family, was _b._ in Norfolk, _ed._ at Camb., and after studying law travelled, and on his return became a popular dramatist. Among his comedies, in which he displayed considerable comic power and truth to nature, may be mentioned _The Sullen Lovers_ (1668), _Royal Shepherdess_ (1668), _The Humourists_ (1671), and _The Miser_ (1672). He attached himself to the Whigs, and when Dryden attacked them in _Absalom and Achitophel_ and _The Medal_, had the temerity to assail him scurrilously in _The Medal of John Bayes_ (1682). The castigation which this evoked in _MacFlecknoe_ and in the second part of _Absalom and Achitophel_, in which S. figures as “Og,” has conferred upon him an unenviable immortality. He may have found some consolation in his succession to Dryden as Poet Laureate when, at the Revolution, the latter was deprived of the office.
Other plays are _Epsom Wells_ (1673), _The Virtuoso_ (1676), _Lancashire Witches_ (1681), _The Volunteers_ (1693), etc.
SHAFTESBURY, ANTHONY ASHLEY COOPER, 3RD EARL OF (1671-1713).–Philosopher, _b._ in London, grandson of the 1st Earl, the eminent statesman, the “Achitophel” of Dryden. After a private education under the supervision of Locke, and a short experience of Winchester School, he travelled much on the Continent. On succeeding to the earldom in 1699 he took a prominent part in the debates of the House of Lords, but devoted himself mainly to philosophical and literary pursuits. His _coll._ writings were _pub._ in 1711 under the title of _Characteristics of Men, Manners, Opinions, and Times_. In his philosophy he maintains, as against Hobbes, the existence of a moral sense, a view subsequently developed by the Scottish school of philosophy. The style of S. is stately and sonorous but laboured. He _d._ at Naples, whither he had gone in search of health, at the early age of 42. Though his writings are directed strongly against Atheism, they have been held to be hostile to a belief in revelation.
SHAIRP, JOHN CAMPBELL (1819-1885).–Poet and critic, _ed._ at Glasgow and Oxf., became Prof. of Latin at St. Andrews 1861. Principal of the United Coll. there 1868, and Prof. of Poetry at Oxf. 1877-87. Among his writings are _Kilmahoe and other Poems_ (1864), _Studies in Poetry and Philosophy_ (1868), _Culture and Religion_ (1870), and a Life of Burns in the English Men of Letters Series. He also collaborated with Prof. Tait in writing the Life of Principal Forbes (_q.v._), and ed. the Journal of Dorothy Wordsworth.
SHAKESPEARE, WILLIAM (1564-1616).–Dramatist and poet, _b._ at Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, on 22nd or 23rd, and baptised on 26th April, 1564. On his father’s side he belonged to a good yeoman stock, though his descent cannot be certainly traced beyond his grandfather, a Richard S., settled at Snitterfield, near Stratford. His _f._, John S., appears to have been a man of intelligence and energy, who set up in Stratford as a dealer in all kinds of agricultural produce, to which he added the trade of a glover. He became prosperous, and gained the respect of his neighbours, as is evidenced by his election in succession to all the municipal honours of his community, including those of chief alderman and high bailiff. He _m._ Mary, youngest _dau._ of Robert Arden, a wealthy farmer at Wilmcote, and a younger branch of a family of considerable distinction, and whose tenant Richard S. had been. On her father’s death Mary inherited Asbies, a house with 50 acres of land attached to it. The first children of the marriage were two _dau._, who _d._ in infancy. William was the third, and others followed, of whom three sons, Gilbert, Richard, and Edmund, and a _dau._ Joan, reached maturity. He was _ed._ with his brother Gilbert at Stratford Grammar School, where he learned Latin from Lilly’s Grammar, English, writing, and arithmetic. He probably read some of the Latin classics and may have got a little Greek, and though his learned friend Ben Jonson credits him with “little Latin and less Greek,” Aubrey says he “knew Latin pretty well.” This happy state of matters continued until he was about 13, when his _f._ fell into misfortune, which appears to have gone on deepening until the success and prosperity of the poet in later years enabled him to reinstate the family in its former position. Meanwhile, however, he was taken from school, and appears to have been made to assist his _f._ in his business. The next certain fact in his history is his marriage in November, 1582, when he was 18, to Ann Hathaway, _dau._ of a yeoman at the neighbouring hamlet of Shottery, and 8 years his senior. Various circumstances point to the marriage having been against the wishes of his own family, and pressed on by that of his wife, and that it was so urged in defence of the reputation of the lady, and as perhaps might be expected, they indicate, though not conclusively, that it did not prove altogether happy. The birth, in May, 1583, of his eldest child Susannah (who is said to have inherited something of his wit and practical ability, and who _m._ a Dr. John Hall), followed in the next year by that of twins, Hamnet and Judith, and the necessity of increased means, led to his departure from Stratford, whence he travelled on foot to London, where the next 23 years of his life were mainly spent. The tradition that his departure was also caused by trouble into which he had got by killing the deer of Sir Thomas Lucy, of Charlcote, is credible. Leaving Stratford in 1585 or the beginning of 1586, he seems at once to have turned to the theatres, where he soon found work, although, as Rowe, his first biographer, says, “in a very mean rank.” It was not long, however, before he had opportunities of showing his capacities as an actor, with the result that he shortly became a member of one of the chief acting companies of the day, which was then under the patronage of the Earl of Leicester, and after being associated with the names of various other noblemen, at last on the accession of James I. became known as the King’s Company. It played originally in “The Theatre” in Shoreditch, the first playhouse to be erected in England, and afterwards in the “Rose” on the Bankside, Southwark, the scene of the earliest successes of S. as an actor and playwright. Subsequently to 1594, he acted occasionally in a playhouse in Newington Butts, and between 1595 and 1599 in the “Curtain.” In the latter year the “Globe” was built on the Bankside, and 10 years later the “Blackfriars:” and with these two, but especially with the former, the remainder of his professional life was associated. It is not unlikely that he visited various provincial towns; but that he was ever in Scotland or on the Continent is improbable. Among the plays in which he appeared were Jonson’s _Every Man in his Humour_ and _Sejanus_, and in _Hamlet_ he played “The Ghost;” and it is said that his brother Gilbert as an old man remembered his appearing as “Adam” in _As You Like It_. By 1595 S. was famous and prosperous; his earlier plays had been written and acted, and his poems _Venus and Adonis_, and _Lucrece_, and probably most of the sonnets, had been _pub._ and received with extraordinary favour. He had also powerful friends and patrons, including the Earl of Southampton, and was known at Court. By the end of the century he is mentioned by Francis Meres (_q.v._) as the greatest man of letters of the day, and his name had become so valuable that it was affixed by unscrupulous publishers to works, _e.g._ _Locrine_, _Oldcastle_, and _The Yorkshire Tragedy_, by other and often very inferior hands. He had also resumed a close connection with Stratford, and was making the restoration of the family position there the object of his ambition. In accordance with this he induced his _f._ to apply for a grant of arms, which was given, and he purchased New Place, the largest house in the village. With the income derived from his profession as an actor and dramatist, and his share of the profits of the Globe and Blackfriars theatres, and in view of the business capacity with which he managed his affairs, he may be regarded as almost a wealthy man, and he went on adding to his influence in Stratford by buying land. He had enjoyed the favour of Elizabeth, and her death in 1603 did nothing to disturb his fortunes, as he stood quite as well with her successor. His company received the title of the “King’s Servants,” and his plays were frequently performed before the Court. But notwithstanding this, the clouds had gathered over his life. The conspiracy of Essex in 1601 had involved several of his friends and patrons in disaster; he had himself been entangled in the unhappy love affair which is supposed to be referred to in some of his sonnets, and he had suffered unkindness at the hands of a friend. For a few years his dramas breathe the darkness and bitterness of a heart which has been sounding the depths of sad experience. He soon, however, emerged from this and, passing through the period of the great tragedies, reached the serene triumph and peace of his later dramas. In 1611 S. severed his long connection with the stage, and retired to Stratford, where the remaining five years of his life were spent in honour and prosperity. Early in 1616 his health began to give way, and he made his will. In the spring he received a visit from his friends, Jonson and Drayton, and the festivity with which it was celebrated seems to have brought on a fever, of which he _d._ on April 23. He was survived by his wife and his two _dau._, both of whom were married. His descendants _d._ out with his grand-daughter, Elizabeth Hall.
Immense research has been spent upon the writings of S., with the result of substantial agreement as to the order of their production and the sources from which their subjects were drawn; for S. rarely troubled himself with the construction of a story, but adopting one already existing reared upon it as a foundation one of those marvellous superstructures which make him the greatest painter and interpreter of human character the world has ever seen. His period of literary production extends from about 1588 to 1613, and falls naturally into four divisions, which Prof. Dowden has named, “In the Workshop” ending in 1596; “In the World” 1596-1601; “Out of the Depths” 1601-1608; and “On the Heights” 1608-1613. Of the 37 plays usually attributed to him, 16 only were _pub._ during his lifetime, so that the exact order in which they were produced cannot always be determined with certainty. Recent authorities are agreed to the extent that while they do not invariably place the individual plays in the same order, they are almost entirely at one as to which belong to the four periods respectively. The following list shows in a condensed form the order according to Mr. Sidney Lee (_Dictionary of National Biography_) with the most probable dates and the original sources on which the plays are founded.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF SHAKESPEARE’S PLAYS
FIRST PERIOD–1588?-1596
LOVE’S LABOUR LOST (1591)–Plot probably original. TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA (1591)–_The Shepherdess Felismena_ in George of Montmayor’s _Diana_.
COMEDY OF ERRORS (1591)–_Menaechmi_ of Plautus and earlier play. ROMEO AND JULIET (1591)–Italian romance in Painter’s _Palace of Pleasure_ and Broke’s _Romeus and Juliet_. HENRY VI. 1, 2, and 3 (1592)–Retouched old plays, probably with Marlowe. RICHARD III. (1592-3)–Holinshed’s _Chronicle_. RICHARD II. (1593-4?)– do.
TITUS ANDRONICUS (1594)–Probably chiefly by Kyd, retouched. KING JOHN (1594)–Old play retouched.
SECOND PERIOD–1596-1601-2
MERCHANT OF VENICE (1594)–Italian novels, _Gesta Romanorum_, and earlier plays.
MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM (1595)–North’s _Plutarch_, Chaucer, Ovid. ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL (1595)–Painter’s _Palace of Pleasure_. TAMING OF THE SHREW (1596?)–Old play retouched, and _Supposes_ of G. Gascoigne, Shakespeare’s in part only. HENRY IV. 1 and 2 (1597?)–Holinshed and earlier play. MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR (1597-8)–Italian novels (?). HENRY V. (1599).
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (1599)–Partly from Italian. AS YOU LIKE IT (1599)–Lodge’s _Rosalynde, Euphues’ Golden Legacie_. TWELFTH NIGHT (1599)–B. Riche’s _Apolonius and Silla_.
THIRD PERIOD–1602-1608
JULIUS CAESAR (1601)–North’s _Plutarch_. HAMLET (1601-2)–Belleforest’s _Histoires Tragiques_. TROILUS AND CRESSIDA (1603?)–Probably Chaucer’s _Troilus and Cresseide_ and Chapman’s _Homer_.
OTHELLO (1604)–Cinthio’s _Hecatommithi_. MEASURE FOR MEASURE (1604?)–Cinthio’s _Epithia_. MACBETH (1605-6?)–Holinshed.
LEAR (1606)– do.
TIMON OF ATHENS (1607?)–_Palace of Pleasure_ and Plutarch written with G. Wilkins (?) and W. Rowley (?). PERICLES (1607-8)–Gower’s _Confessio Amantis_, with G. Wilkins (?). ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA (1608)–North’s _Plutarch_. CORIOLANUS (1608)– do.
FOURTH PERIOD–1608-1613
CYMBELINE (1610-11?)–Holinshed and _Ginevra_ in Boccaccio’s _Decamerone_.
WINTER’S TALE (1610-11)–Green’s _Dorastus and Fawnia_. TEMPEST (1611?)–S. Jourdain’s _Discovery of the Bermudas_. HENRY VIII. (1612-13)–Draft by S. completed by Fletcher and perhaps Massinger.
POEMS
VENUS AND ADONIS (1593).
RAPE OF LUCRECE (1594).
SONNETS (1591-94?).
The evidence as to chronology is three-fold–(1) External, such as entries in registers of Stationers’ Company, contemporary references, or details as to the companies of actors; (2) External and internal combined, such as references in the plays to events or books, etc.; (3) Internal, content and treatment, progressive changes in versification, presence of frequency of rhyme, etc. The genius of S. was so intensely dramatic that it is impossible to say confidently when he speaks in his own character. The sonnets, written probably 1591-94 have, however, been thought to be of a more personal nature, and to contain indications as to his character and history, and much labour and ingenuity have been expended to make them yield their secrets. It is generally agreed that they fall into two sections, the first consisting of sonnets 1 to 126 addressed to a young man, probably Henry Wriothesley, Earl of Southampton, the friend and patron of S., and 9 years his junior; and the second from 127 to 154 addressed or referring to a woman in whose snares the writer had become entangled, and by whom he was betrayed. Some, however, have held that they are allegorical, or partly written on behalf of others, or that the emotion they express is dramatic and not personal.
There are contemporary references to S. which show him to have been generally held in high regard. Thus Ben Jonson says, “I loved the man, and do honour to his memory, on this side idolatry, as much as any,” and Chettle refers to “His demeanour no lesse civil than exelent in the qualities he professes.” The only exception is a reference to him in Greene’s _Groat’s-worth of Wit_, as “an upstart crow beautified with our feathers, that with his tyger’s heart wrapt in a player’s hide supposes he is as well able to bumbast out a blanke verse as the best of you … and is in his own conceit the only Shake-scene in a countrie.” He is said to have written rapidly and with facility, rarely requiring to alter what he had set down. In addition to his generally received works, others have been attributed to him, some of which have been already mentioned: the only two which appear to have serious claims to consideration are _The Two Noble Kinsmen_, partly by Fletcher, and _Edward III._, of which part of Act I. and the whole of Act II. have been thought to be Shakespeare’s. On the other hand a theory has been propounded that none of the plays bearing his name were really his, but that they were written by Bacon (_q.v._). This extraordinary view has been widely supported, chiefly in America, and has been sometimes maintained; with considerable ability and misplaced ingenuity.
SUMMARY.–_B._ 1564, _ed._ at Stratford School, _f._ falls into difficulties _c._ 1577, _m._ Ann Hathaway 1582, goes to London end of 1585, finds employment in theatres and acts in chief companies of the time, first in “The Theatre” afterwards the “Rose,” the “Curtain,” the “Globe” and “Blackfriars,” appearing in Jonson’s _Every Man in his Humour_ and _Sejanus_. _Venus and Adonis_, _Lucrece_, earlier plays, and perhaps most of sonnets _pub._ by 1595, when he was friend of Southampton and known at Court, purchases New Place at Stratford, falls into trouble _c._ 1600, having lost friends in Essex’s conspiracy, and has unfortunate love affair; emerges from this into honour and peace, retires to Stratford and _d._ 1616. Productive period _c._ 1588-1613, 4 divisions, first (1588-96), second (1596-1601), third (1601-1608), fourth (1608-1613). Of 37 plays usually attributed, only 16 _pub._ in his life.
As might have been expected, there is a copious literature devoted to Shakespeare and his works. Among those dealing with biography may be mentioned Halliwell Phillipps’s _Outline of the Life of Shakespeare_ (7th ed., 1887), Fleay’s _Shakespeare Manual_ (1876), and _Life of Shakespeare_ (1886). _Life_ by S. Lee (1898), Dowden’s _Shakespeare, his Mind and Art_ (1875), Drake’s _Shakespeare and his Times_ (1817), Thornberry’s _Shakespeare’s England_ (1856), Knight’s _Shakespeare_ (1843). _See_ also Works by Guizot, De Quincey, Fullom, Elze, and others. Criticisms by Coleridge, Hazlitt, Swinburne, T.S. Baynes, and others. Concordance by Mrs. Cowden Clarke. Ed., Rowe (1709), Pope (1725), Theobald (1733), Johnson (1765), Capell (1768), Steevens’s improved re-issue of Johnson (1773), Malone (1790), Reed’s _1st Variorum_ (1803), _2nd Variorum_ (1813), _3rd Variorum_ by Jas. Boswell the younger (1821), Dyce (1857), Staunton (1868-70), Camb. by W.G. Clark and Dr. Aldis Wright (1863-66), Temple (ed. I. Gollancz, 1894-96), _Eversley Shakespeare_ (ed. Herford, 1899).
SHARP, WILLIAM (“FIONA MACLEOD”) (1856-1905).–Wrote under this pseudonym a remarkable series of Celtic tales, novels, and poems, including _Pharais, a Romance of the Isles_, _The Mountain Lovers_, _The Sin-Eater_ (1895), _The Washer of the Ford_, and _Green Fire_ (1896), _The Laughter of Peterkin_ (1897), _The Dominion of Dreams_ (1899), _The Divine Adventure_ (1900), _Drostan and Iseult_ (1902). He was one of the earliest and most gifted promoters of the Celtic revival. In verse are _From the Hills of Dream_, _Through the Ivory Gate_, and _The Immortal Hour_ (drama). Under his own name he wrote _Earth’s Voices_, _Sospiri di Roma_, _Sospiri d’Italia_, poems, and books on Rossetti, Shelley, Browning, and Heine; also a few novels.
SHAW, HENRY WHEELER (“JOSH BILLINGS”) (1818-1885).–Humorist, _b._ in Massachusetts. After working on steam-boats and farming, he became an auctioneer, and settled at Poughkeepsie. Stripped of the fantastic spelling by which he first succeeded in catching the public attention, the shrewd and droll maxims of his _Farmers’ Allminax_ have something in common with Franklin’s _Poor Richard_. Other books with the same features are _Josh Billings’ Sayings_, _Everybody’s Friend_, _Josh Billings’ Trump Kards_, etc.
SHELLEY, MRS. MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT (GODWIN) (1797-1851).–Novelist, _b._ in London, the only child of William Godwin (_q.v._) and Mary Wollstonecraft, his wife (_q.v._). In 1814 she went to the Continent with P.B. Shelley (_q.v._), and _m._ him two years later. When abroad she saw much of Byron, and it was at his villa on the Lake of Geneva that she conceived the idea of her famous novel of _Frankenstein_ (1818), a ghastly but powerful work. None of her other novels, including _The Last Man_ and _Lodore_, had the same success. She contributed biographies of foreign artists and authors to Lardner’s _Cabinet Cyclopaedia_, and ed. her husband’s poems.
SHELLEY, PERCY BYSSHE (1792-1822).–Poet, _s._ of Sir Timothy S., was _b._ at Field Place, near Horsham, Sussex, and _ed._ at Brentford, Eton, and Univ. Coll., Oxf., whence for writing and circulating a pamphlet, _The Necessity of Atheism_, he was expelled. One immediate result of this was a difference with his _f._, which was deepened into a permanent breach by his marriage in the following year to Harriet Westbrook, the pretty and lively _dau._ of a retired innkeeper. The next three years were passed in wandering about from place to place in Ireland, Wales, the Lake District, and other parts of the kingdom, and in the composition of _Queen Mab_ (1813), the poet’s first serious work. Before the end of that period he had separated from his wife, for which various reasons have been assigned, one being her previous desertion of him, and the discovery on his part of imperfect sympathy between them; the principal one, however, being that he had conceived a violent passion for Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (_see_ Shelley, Mrs. M.W.), _dau._ of William Godwin (_q.v._), with whom he eloped to Italy in 1814, and whom he _m._ in 1816, his first wife having drowned herself. The custody of his two children, whom he had left with their mother, was refused him by the Court of Chancery. In Switzerland he had made the acquaintance of Byron, with whom he afterwards lived in intimacy in Italy. Returning to England in 1815 he wrote his first really great poem, _Alastor_ (1816), followed by the _Hymn to Intellectual Beauty_, _Prince Athanase_, _Rosalind and Helen_, and _Laon and Cythna_, afterwards called the _Revolt of Islam_ (1817). In 1818 he left England never to return, and went to Italy, and in the next two years–while at Rome–produced his two greatest works, the tragedy of _The Cenci_ (1819) and _Prometheus Unbound_ (1820). He removed to Venice in 1820 in the company of Byron, and there wrote _Julian and Maddalo_, a poetic record of discussions between them. _Epipsychidion_, _Hellas_, and _Adonais_, a lament for Keats, were all produced in 1821. After a short residence at Pisa he went to Lerici on the Gulf of Spezzia, where he indulged in his favourite recreation of boating, and here on July 8, 1823, he went, in company with a friend, Mr. Williams, on that fatal expedition which cost him his life. His body was cast ashore about a fortnight later, and burnt, in accordance with the quarantine law of the country, on a pyre in the presence of Byron, Leigh Hunt, and Trelawny. His ashes were carefully preserved and buried in the Protestant cemetery at Rome near those of Keats. The character of S. is a singularly compounded one. By the unanimous testimony of his friends, it was remarkable for gentleness, purity, generosity, and strong affection: on the other hand he appears to have had very inadequate conceptions of duty and responsibility, and from his childhood seems to have been in revolt against authority of every kind. The charge of Atheism rests chiefly on _Mab_, the work of a boy, printed by him for private circulation, and to some extent repudiated as personal opinion. As a poet he stands in the front rank: in lyrical gift, shown in _Prometheus_, _Hellas_, and some of his shorter poems, such as “The Skylark,” he is probably unsurpassed, and in his _Cenci_ he exhibits dramatic power of a high order. Among his shorter poems are some which reach perfection, such as the sonnet on “Ozymandias,” “Music when soft voices die,” “I arise from dreams of thee,” “When the lamp is shattered,” the “Ode to the West Wind,” and “O world! O life! O time!” During his short life of 30 years he was, not unnaturally, the object of much severe judgment, and his poetic power even was recognised by only a few. Posterity has taken a more lenient view of his serious errors of conduct, while according to his genius a shining place among the immortals.
The best ed. of the _Works_ is that of Buxton Forman (4 vols.). There are ed. of the Poems by W.M. Rossetti (1894), Dowden (1891), etc. _Lives_ by Medwin (1847), J.A. Symonds (1887), W.M. Rossetti, Prof. Dowden, T. Jefferson Hogg, and others.
SHENSTONE, WILLIAM (1714-1763).–Poet, _s._ of Thomas S., owner of a small estate at Hales Owen, Shropshire. At this place, called the Leasowes, the poet was _b._ In 1732 he went to Oxf. On his father’s death he retired to the Leasowes where he passed his time, and ran through his means in transforming it into a marvel of landscape gardening, visited by strangers from all parts of the kingdom. The works of S. consist of poems and prose essays. Of the former two, _The Schoolmistress_, a humorous imitation of Spenser, with many quaint and tender touches, and the _Pastoral Ballad_ in four parts, perhaps the best of its kind in the language, survive. The essays also display good sense and a pointed and graceful style. The last years of S. were clouded by financial embarrassments and perhaps also by disappointed affections. After his death his works, were _coll._ and _pub._ by Dodsley.
SHERIDAN, RICHARD BRINSLEY (1751-1816).–Dramatist and orator, _b._ in Dublin, the _s._ of an actor, was _ed._ at Harrow. In 1772 he eloped with Miss Linley, a famous singer, went with her to France, fought two duels, and _m._ her in 1773. S. has a reputation of the highest in two distinct walks, those of the dramatist and the Parliamentary orator. By his three great comedies, _The Rivals_ (1775), _The School for Scandal_ (1777), and _The Critic_ (1779), he raised himself to the first place among the writers of the comedy of manners; and by his speeches, specially those in support of the impeachment of Warren Hastings, he has a position among the greatest of Parliamentary orators. Unfortunately he had little turn for business, and too great a love of pleasure and conviviality, which led to lifelong pecuniary embarrassment, completed by the destruction by fire of Drury Lane Theatre, of which he had become proprietor. As a politician S. supported the Whig party, and held the offices of Under-Sec. for Foreign Affairs, Sec. to the Treasury, and Treasurer of the Navy. He was also confidential adviser to George IV. when Prince of Wales, but like everybody else who had to do with him suffered from the ingratitude of “the first gentleman in Europe.” The accounts long prevalent of the poverty and misery of his last years have been shown to be greatly exaggerated, though he was in reduced circumstances. As a dramatist S. shines in the construction of amusing situations, and in a sparkling flow of witty dialogue which never flags. His only other play was _Pizarro_ (1799), a patriotic melodrama.
_Lives_ by Walkins (1817), T. Moore (1825), and Mrs. Oliphant (1883).
SHERLOCK, WILLIAM (1641?-1707).–Divine and controversialist, _b._ at Southwark, _ed._ at Eton and Camb., took orders, and became in 1684 Master of the Temple, and in 1691 Dean of St. Paul’s. He exercised a powerful influence in the Church. His most popular work was his _Discourse concerning Death_, and his principal controversial effort was his _Vindication of the Doctrine of the Trinity_. Other works were on _Future Judgment_ and on _The Divine Providence_. His son, THOMAS SHERLOCK (1678-1761), who was also Master of the Temple, became Bishop successively of Bangor, Salisbury, and London, and was, like his _f._, a noted controversialist. His best known work is his _Tryal of the Witnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus_ (1729).
SHERWOOD, MRS. MARY MARTHA (BUTT) (1775-1851).–Writer of children’s books, _m._ in 1803 Captain H. Sherwood, and went to India, where she took much interest in soldiers’ children. Among her books, many of which attained great popularity, are _Susan Gray_, _Little Henry and his Bearer_, and _The Fairchild Family_.
SHIRLEY, JAMES (1596-1666).–Dramatist, _b._ in London, _ed._ at Merchant Taylor’s School, London, and at Oxf. and Camb., became a master of St. Alban’s Grammar School, and afterwards joined the Roman Catholic Church, and going to London wrote for the stage, producing 39 plays. His talents and his religion recommended him to Queen Henrietta Maria, and he appears to have led a fairly prosperous life until the interdict of plays by Parliament in 1642. In the Civil War he bore arms on the Royalist side, and during the Commonwealth he returned to his occupation of schoolmaster. The Restoration does not appear to have improved his fortunes much; he was burnt out in the great fire of 1666, and very soon afterwards he and his wife _d._ on the same day. The plays of S. include _The Traitor_ (1631), _The Cardinal_ (1641), _The Gamester_ (1633), _Hyde Park_ (1632), and _The Lady of Pleasure_ (1635). He also wrote poems, including the well-known lines beginning “The Glories of our mortal State.” S. has fancy, liveliness, and the style of a gentleman, but he lacks depth and interest. He is less gross than most of his contemporaries.
Other plays are _The Ball_ (1632), _The Maid’s Revenge_ (1626), _The Grateful Servant_ (1629), _Bird in a Cage_ (1633), _The Example_ (1634). _The Constant Maid_ (_c._ 1640), _Doubtful Heir, or Rosania_ (1640), _Court Secret_ (1653), _Contention of Ajax and Ulysses_ (1659), etc.
SHORTHOUSE, JOSEPH HENRY (1834-1903).–Novelist, _b._ at Birmingham, where he was a chemical manufacturer. Originally a Quaker, he joined the Church of England. His first, and by far his best book, _John Inglesant_, appeared in 1881, and at once made him famous. Though deficient in its structure as a story, and not appealing to the populace, it fascinates by the charm of its style and the “dim religious light” by which it is suffused, as well as by the striking scenes occasionally depicted. His other novels, _The Little Schoolmaster Mark_, _Sir Percival_, _The Countess Eve_, and _A Teacher of the Violin_, though with some of the same characteristics, had no success comparable to his first. S. also wrote an essay, _The Platonism of Wordsworth_.
SIBBES, RICHARD (1577-1635).–Divine, was at Camb., where he held various academic posts, of which he was deprived by the High Commission on account of his Puritanism. He was the author of several devotional works expressing intense religious feeling–_The Saint’s Cordial_ (1629), _The Bruised Reed and Smoking Flax_, etc. He was a man of great learning.
SIDNEY, or SYDNEY, ALGERNON (1622-1683).–Political writer, _s._ of the 2nd Earl of Leicester, and grand-nephew of Sir Philip S., in his youth travelled on the Continent, served against the Irish Rebels, and on the outbreak of the Civil War, on the side of the Parliament. He was one of the judges on the trial of Charles I., and though he did not attend, he thoroughly approved of the sentence. He opposed the assumption of the supreme power by Cromwell. After the Restoration he lived on the Continent, but receiving a pardon, returned in 1677 to England. He, however, retained the republican principles which he had all his life advocated, fell under the suspicion of the Court, and was in 1683, on the discovery of the Rye House Plot, condemned to death on entirely insufficient evidence, and beheaded on Tower Hill, December 7, 1683. Though no charge of personal venality has been substantiated, yet it appears to be certain that he received money from the French King for using his influence against war between the two countries, his object being to prevent Charles II. from obtaining command of the war supplies. S. was deeply versed in political theory, and wrote _Discourses concerning Government_, _pub._ in 1698.
SIDNEY, SIR PHILIP (1554-1586).–Poet and romancist, _s._ of Sir Henry S., Deputy of Ireland, and Pres. of Wales, _b._ at the family seat of Penshurst, and _ed._ at Shrewsbury School and Oxf. He was at the French Court on the fateful August 24, 1572–the massacre of St. Bartholomew–but left Paris soon thereafter and went to Germany and Italy. In 1576 he was with his _f._ in Ireland, and the next year went on missions to the Elector Palatine and the Emperor Rudolf II. When his father’s Irish policy was called in question, he wrote an able defence of it. He became the friend of Spenser, who dedicated to him his _Shepherd’s Calendar_. In 1580 he lost the favour of the Queen by remonstrating against her proposed marriage with the Duke of Anjou. His own marriage with a _dau._ of Sir Francis Walsingham took place in 1583. In 1585 he was engaged in the war in the Low Countries, and met his death at Zutphen from a wound in the thigh. His death was commemorated by Spenser in his _Astrophel_. S. has always been considered as the type of English chivalry; and his extraordinary contemporary reputation rested on his personal qualities of nobility and generosity. His writings consist of his famous pastoral romance of _Arcadia_, his sonnets _Astrophel and Stella_, and his _Apologie for Poetrie_, afterwards called _Defence of Poesie_. The _Arcadia_ was originally written for the amusement of his sister, afterwards Countess of Pembroke, the “Sidney’s sister, Pembroke’s mother,” of Ben Jonson. Though its interest now is chiefly historical, it enjoyed an extraordinary popularity for a century after its appearance, and had a marked influence on the immediately succeeding literature. It was written in 1580-81 but not _pub._ until 1590, and is a medley of poetical prose, full of conceits, with occasional verse interspersed. His _Defence of Poesie_, written in reply to Gosson (_q.v._), is in simple and vigorous English. S. also made a translation of the Psalms.
_Poems_ ed. by Grosart, _Apologie_ by Arber and others, _Astrophel_ by Gray, Arber, and others. _Life_ by Fulke Greville (1652), ed. by Sir E. Brydges (1816). _Arcadia_ (_facsimile_), by Somner. Lives by J.A. Symonds, Fox Bourne, and others.
SIGOURNEY, MRS. LYDIA (HUNTLEY) (1791-1865).–American verse writer, was an extraordinarily copious writer of smooth, sentimental verse, which had great popularity in its day. Her most ambitious effort was a blank verse poem, _Traits of the Aborigines of America_ (1822). Other books were _Connecticut Forty Years Since_, _Pocahontas_, etc.
SIMMS, WILLIAM GILMORE (1806-1870).–Novelist, etc., _b._ at Charleston, South Carolina, began his literary life with journalism. He then for some time tried poetry, but without any distinct success except occasionally in _Southern Passages and Pictures_ (1839). But in fiction, which he began in 1833 with _Martin Faber_, he was more successful, though rather an imitator of Cooper. _The Yemassee_ (1835) is generally considered his best novel. He was less happy in his attempts at historical romance, such as _Count Julian_ and _The Damsel of Darien_. During the war, in which he was naturally a strong partisan of the South, he was ruined, and his library was burned; and from these disasters he never recovered. He had a high repute as a journalist, orator, and lecturer. He was the first Southerner to achieve any name in literature.
SKELTON, JOHN (1460?-1529).–Poet, _b._ in Norfolk, and _ed._ at Oxf. and Camb., of both of which he was _cr._ Poet Laureate, and perhaps held the same office under the King. He was appointed tutor to Henry VIII., and notwithstanding his sharp tongue, enjoyed some favour at Court. In 1498 he entered the Church, and became Rector of Diss in his native county. Hitherto he seems to have produced some translations only, but about this time he appears to have struck upon the vein which he was to work with such vigour and popularity. He turned his attention to abuses in Church and State, which he lashed with caustic satire, conveyed in short doggerel rhyming lines peculiar to himself, in which jokes, slang, invectives, and Latin quotations rush out pell-mell. His best works in this line are _Why come ye not to Court?_ and _Colin Clout_, both directed against the clergy, and the former against Wolsey in particular. Piqued at his inconstancy (for S. had previously courted him) the Cardinal would have imprisoned him, had he not taken sanctuary in Westminster, where he remained until his death. Other works of his are _The Tunning_ (brewing) _of Elynor Rummynge_, a coarsely humorous picture of low life, and the tender and fanciful _Death of Philip Sparrow_, the lament of a young lady over her pet bird killed by a cat.
SKELTON, SIR JOHN (1831-1897).–Miscellaneous writer. _B._ in Edinburgh, _ed._ at the Univ. there, and called to the Scottish Bar 1854, he was Sec. and ultimately Chairman of the Local Government Board for Scotland. He wrote _Maitland of Lethington and the Scotland of Mary Stuart_ (1887), _The Crookit Meg_ (1880), and _The Table Talk of Shirley_. He contributed to _Fraser’s_ and _Blackwood’s Magazines_. He received the degree of LL.D. from Edin. 1878, and was made K.C.B. 1897.
SKENE, WILLIAM FORBES (1807-1892).–Historian, 2nd _s._ of James S. of Rubislaw, friend of Sir Walter Scott, was a Writer to the Signet in Edinburgh, and Clerk of the Bills in the Court of Session. He wrote and ed. historical works of considerable authority, _The Highlanders of Scotland_ (1837), and his most important work, _Celtic Scotland_ (1876-80), and ed. of _The Four Ancient Books of Wales_ (1868), and other Celtic writings.
SKINNER, JOHN (1721-1807).–Historian and song-writer, _s._ of a schoolmaster at Birse, Aberdeenshire, was _ed._ at Marischal Coll. Brought up as a Presbyterian, he became an Episcopalian and ministered to a congregation at Longside, near Peterhead, for 65 years. He wrote _The Ecclesiastical History of Scotland_ from the Episcopalian point of view, and several songs of which _The Reel of Tullochgorum_ and _The Ewie wi’ the Crookit Horn_ are the best known, and he also rendered some of the Psalms into Latin. He kept up a rhyming correspondence with Burns.
SKIPSEY, JOSEPH (1832-1903).–Poet, _b._ near North Shields, and from childhood worked in the mines. He _pub._ a few pieces of poetry in 1859, and soon after left working underground and became caretaker of Shakespeare’s house at Stratford-on-Avon. During the last 30 years of his life he _pub._ several vols. of poetry, including _The Collier Lad_ and _Carols from the Coal Fields_; and he ed. some vols. for the “Canterbury Poets.” _Memoir_ by R.S. Watson (1908).
SMART, CHRISTOPHER (1722-1771).–Poet, _s._ of the steward to Lord Vane, was _b._ at Shipbourne, Kent, and by the bounty of the Duchess of Cleveland sent to Camb. Here his ill-balanced mind showed itself in wild folly. Leaving the Univ. he came to London and maintained himself by conducting and writing for periodicals. His _Poems on Several Occasions_, which contained “The Hop Garden,” was issued in 1752, and _The Hilliad_ in 1753 against “Sir” John Hill, a notoriety of the day who had attacked him. His mind ultimately gave way, and it was in confinement that he produced by far his most remarkable work, the _Song to David_, a most original and powerful poem. Unfortunate to the last, he _d._ in the King’s Bench prison, to which he had been committed for debt. He also translated Horace.
SMEDLEY, FRANK (1818-1864).–Novelist, was the author of several novels which had considerable popularity, including _Frank Fairleigh_ (1850), _Lewis Arundel_ (1852), and _Harry Coverdale’s Courtship_ (1855). S. was a life-long cripple.
SMILES, SAMUEL (1812-1904).–Biographer and miscellaneous writer, _b._ at Haddington, _ed._ at the Grammar School there, studied medicine at Edin., and settled in practice in his native town. Subsequently he betook himself to journalism, and ed. a paper in Leeds. Afterwards he was sec. to various railways. His leisure was devoted to reading and writing, and his first publication was _The Life of George Stephenson_ (1857). _Self-Help_, his most popular work, followed in 1859; it had an immense circulation, and was translated into 17 languages. It was followed up by _Character_ (1871), _Thrift_ (1875), and _Duty_ (1880). _The Lives of the Engineers_ and _Industrial Biography_ appeared in 1863, _The Huguenots, their Settlements, Churches, and Industries in England and Ireland_ (1867), and _The Huguenots in France_ a little later. He also wrote biographies of Telford and James Watt, and of the Scottish naturalists, Edwards the shoemaker and Dick the baker. He received the degree of LL.D. from Edin. in 1878.
SMITH, ADAM (1723-1790).–Philosopher and economist, _b._ at Kirkcaldy, Fife, the _s._ of the Controller of Customs there. His _f._ _d._ shortly before his birth. The first and only adventure in his tranquil life was his being kidnapped by gipsies. After being at the Grammar School of Kirkcaldy, he went to the Univ. of Glasgow, whence he proceeded to Oxf. On the conclusion of his Univ. course he returned to Kirkcaldy, going subsequently to Edinburgh, where he was soon recognised as a man of unusual intellect. In 1751 he was appointed to the Chair of Logic at Glasgow, which he next year exchanged for that of Moral Philosophy, and in 1759 he _pub._ his _Theory of the Moral Sentiments_. He received in 1762 the degree of LL.D. from his Univ., and two years later resigned his chair and became travelling tutor to the young Duke of Buccleuch, accompanying him to the Continent. He remained for nearly a year in Paris, and made the acquaintance of the brilliant circle of _savans_ in that city. Returning to Kirkcaldy in 1766 he lived there with his mother for nearly ten years in retirement and close study, the results of which were given to the world in 1776 in the publication of his epoch-making work, _Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations_ (1776). This book may be said to have founded the science of political economy, and to have created a new department of literature; and very few works have, to the same extent, influenced the practical history of the world. In 1778 S. was made a Commissioner of Customs, and settled in Edinburgh; and in 1787 he was elected Lord Rector of the Univ. of Glasgow. In addition to the works above mentioned, he wrote various essays on philosophical subjects, and an account of the last days of David Hume. The style of his works was plain and lucid, and he had a remarkable faculty of apt illustration.
SMITH, ALBERT (1816-1860).–Humorous writer, studied medicine, and for a short time assisted his _f._ in practice. He was one of the original contributors to _Punch_, and among his books are _The Adventures of Mr. Ledbury_ and _The Scattergood Family_. He also lectured and gave entertainments, including _The Ascent of Mont Blanc_, which were highly popular.
SMITH, ALEXANDER (1830-1867).–Poet and essayist, _s._ of a Paisley pattern-designer, at first followed the same occupation in Glasgow, but having become known as a poet of promise was, in 1854, appointed Sec. of Edin. Univ. After contributing to the _Glasgow Citizen_ he _pub._ _A Life Drama_ (1853), which received much admiration. Thereafter appeared _War Sonnets_ (in conjunction, with S. Dobell, _q.v._), _City Poems_ (1857), and _Edwin of Deira_ (1861). In prose he wrote _Dreamthorpe_ (essays), _A Summer in Skye_, and two novels, _Alfred Hagart’s Household_ and _Miss Dona M’Quarrie_. His poems were in a rich and glowing style, but by some good judges were held to show fancy rather than imagination. He belonged to what was called the “spasmodic” school of poetry.
SMITH, MRS. CHARLOTTE (TURNER) (1749-1806).–Was _m._ at 15 to a West Indian merchant, who by a series of misfortunes and imprudences was reduced from affluence to poverty. She had in her youth shown considerable promise as a poetess, and in her misfortunes she was able to maintain herself and her family by her pen. In addition to a poem, _Beachy Head_, and sonnets, she wrote several novels of more than usual merit, including _Emmeline_ (1788), and, her best work, _The Old English Manor House_.
SMITH, HORACE (1779-1849), SMITH, JAMES (1775-1839).–Humorists, _s._ of a London lawyer who was solicitor to the Board of Ordnance. James succeeded his _f._; Horace became a successful stockbroker. Both brothers were distinguished for brilliant wit and humour. Their first great hit was _Rejected Addresses_ (1812), extremely clever parodies on leading contemporary poets. To this _jeu d’esprit_ James contributed among others imitations of Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Crabbe, while Horace’s share included Scott and Moore. James _pub._ little more, but anonymously gave Charles Matthews assistance in his entertainments. Horace _pub._ several novels which, with perhaps the exception of _Brambletye House_, are now forgotten. He also wrote _The Address to a Mummy_, a remarkable poem in which wit and true sentiment are admirably combined. Both brothers were highly esteemed not only for their social qualities, but for their benevolence and goodness of heart.
SMITH, SYDNEY (1771-1845).–Miscellaneous writer, _b._ at Woodford, Essex, the _s._ of a gentleman of independent means, and _ed._ at Winchester and Oxf., took orders 1794, becoming curate of Amesbury. He came to Edinburgh as tutor to a gentleman’s _s._, was introduced to the circle of brilliant young Whigs there, and assisted in founding the _Edinburgh Review_. He then went to London, where he was for a time preacher at the Foundling Hospital, and lectured on moral philosophy at the Royal Institution. His brilliant wit and general ability made him a favourite in society, while by his power of clear and cogent argument he exercised a strong influence on the course of politics. His _Plymley Letters_ did much to advance the cause of Catholic emancipation. He received various preferments, and became a canon of St. Paul’s. In politics he was a Whig, in his Church views an Erastian; and in the defence of his principles he was honest and courageous. Though not remarkable for religious devotion he was a hard-working and, according to his lights, useful country parson. By the death of a younger brother he in his later years came into a considerable fortune.
SMITH, WALTER CHALMERS (1824-1908).–_B._ in Aberdeen and _ed._ there and at Edin., was a minister of the Free Church of Scotland at Orwell, Glasgow, and Edinburgh successively, a distinguished preacher and a man of kindly nature and catholic sympathies. He attained considerable reputation as a poet. Among his works are _The Bishop’s Walk_ (1861), _Olrig Grange_ (1872), _Hilda among the Broken Gods_ (1878), _Raban_ (1880), _Kildrostan_ (1884), and _A Heretic_ (1890). Some of these were written under the names of “Orwell” and Hermann Kunst. He received the degrees of D.D. and LL.D.
SMITH, SIR WILLIAM (1813-1893).–Lexicographer, _ed._ at Univ. Coll., London, was a contributor to the _Penny Magazine_ and compiled or ed. many useful works of reference, including _Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities_ (1842), and dictionaries of the Bible, of Christian Antiquities, and Christian Biography, etc., also various school series and educational handbooks, including _The Classical Dictionary_. He held various academical degrees, including Ph.D. of Leipsic, and was knighted in 1892.
SMITH, WILLIAM ROBERTSON (1846-1894).–Theologian and Semitic scholar, _s._ of the Free Church minister of Keig, Aberdeenshire, studied for the ministry of that Church. In 1870 he was appointed Prof. of Hebrew, etc., in its coll. at Aberdeen, a position which he had to resign on account of his advanced critical views. He became joint ed. of _The Encyclopaedia Britannica_, and in 1883 Prof. of Arabic at Camb. S. was a man of brilliant and versatile talents, a mathematician as well as a scholar, somewhat uncompromising and aggressive in the exposition and defence of his views. His works include _The Old Testament in the Jewish Church_ (1881), and _The Religion of the Semites_ (1889).
SMOLLETT, TOBIAS GEORGE (1721-1771).–Novelist, 2nd _s._ of Archibald S., of Dalquhurn, Dumbartonshire, and _ed._ at Glasgow, proceeded to London in 1739 with the view of having a tragedy, _The Regicide_, put on the stage, in which, however, he failed. In this disappointment he took service as surgeon’s mate on one of the vessels of the Carthagena expedition, 1741, an experience which he turned to account in his novels. On his return he settled in London, and endeavoured to acquire practice as a physician, but was not very successful, and having discovered where his talent lay, he thenceforth devoted himself to literature. _Roderick Random_ appeared in 1748, _The History of an Atom_ (1749), _Peregrine Pickle_ in 1751, _Ferdinand, Count Fathom_ in 1753, _Sir Lancelot Greaves_ in 1766, and _Humphrey Clinker_, generally considered his best novel, in 1770. Besides these works, however, he translated Voltaire, wrote a _History of England_ in continuation of Hume’s, an _Ode to Independence_, travels and satires, and contributed to various periodicals. He was repeatedly involved in acrimonious controversy, and on one occasion fined and imprisoned for a libel, which, with various private misfortunes, embittered his life, and he _d._ disappointed and worn out near Leghorn. Had he lived four years longer he would have succeeded to his grandfather’s estate of Bonhill. The novels of S. display great narrative power, and he has a remarkable comic vein of a broad type, which enables him to present ludicrous scenes and circumstances with great effect. There is, however, a strong infusion of coarseness in his treatment of his subjects.
SOMERVILLE, MRS. MARY (FAIRFAX) (1780-1872).–Mathematician and writer on science, _dau._ of Admiral Sir William G. Fairfax, _b._ at Jedburgh, was twice _m._, first to Mr. Greig, an officer in the Russian Navy, and second to her cousin Dr. William S. Although she had early manifested a taste for study, and specially for science, she had, until after the death of her first husband, little opportunity of following out her favourite subjects. With Dr. S., who was in full sympathy with her scientific tastes, she went to reside in London, and there her talents made her known in scientific circles. In 1823 she was requested by Lord Brougham to popularise the _Mechanique Celeste_ of La Place. This she did with great success, publishing her work as _The Celestial Mechanism of the Heavens_ (1830). She also _pub._ _The Connection of the Physical Sciences_ (1834), and other works. She received a pension from Government, and _d._ aged 92 at Naples, where she had resided for the last ten or twelve years of her life.
SOMERVILLE, WILLIAM (1675-1742).–Poet, a Warwickshire squire of literary tastes, wrote among others a poem, _The Chase_, in 4 books, which has some passages of considerable descriptive power.
SOTHEBY, WILLIAM (1757-1833).–Poet and translator, belonged to a good family, and was _ed._ at Harrow. In early life he was in the army. He _pub._ a few dramas and books of poems, which had no great popularity, and are now forgotten; his reputation rests upon his admirable translations of the _Oberon_ of Wieland, the _Georgics_ of Virgil, and the _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_. The last two were begun when he was upwards of 70, but he lived to complete them. His _Georgics_ is considered one of the best translations from the classics in the language.
SOUTH, ROBERT (1634-1716).–Divine, _s._ of a London merchant, was _b._ at Hackney, and _ed._ at Westminster School and Oxf., where in 1660 he was appointed Univ. Orator. He became domestic chaplain to the Lord Chancellor Clarendon, and in 1663 the degree of D.D. was conferred upon him. After accompanying an embassy to Poland he became Rector of Islip, and a chaplain to Charles II. Thereafter he steadily declined higher preferment, including the bishopric of Rochester. He was opposed to the Romanising measures of James II., but owing to his views as to the duty of passive obedience he declined to associate himself in any way with the Revolution, to which nevertheless he submitted. He was an expert controversialist, but it is chiefly by his sermons, which are among the classics of English divinity, that he is remembered. He has the reputation of being the wittiest of English preachers, and this characteristic is sometimes present to a degree not quite suitable to the subjects treated.
SOUTHERNE, THOMAS (1660-1746).–Dramatist, _b._ in Dublin, and _ed._ at Trinity Coll. there, came to London and studied law at the Middle Temple. Afterwards he entered the army and saw service. He wrote ten plays, of which two were long acted and are still remembered, _The Fatal Marriage_ (1694) and _Oroonoko_ (1696), in the latter of which he appeals passionately against the slave-trade. Unlike most preceding dramatists he was a practical man, succeeded in his theatrical management, and retired on a fortune. Other plays are _The Loyal Brother_ (1682), _The Disappointment_ (1684), _The Wives’ Excuse_ (1692), _The Spartan Dame_ (1719), etc.
SOUTHEY, MRS. CAROLINE ANNE (BOWLES) (1786-1854).–Poetess, _dau._ of a captain in the navy, submitted a poem, _Ellen Fitzarthur_ to Southey (_q.v._), which led to a friendship, and to a proposed joint poem on Robin Hood, not, however, carried out, and eventually to her becoming the poet’s second wife. She wrote various other works, including _Chapters on Churchyards_ and _Tales of the Factories_.
SOUTHEY, ROBERT (1774-1843).–Poet, biographer, etc., _s._ of an unsuccessful linen-draper in Bristol, where he was _b._, was sent to Westminster School, and in 1792 went to Oxf. His friendship with Coleridge began in 1794, and with him he joined in the scheme of a “pantisocracy” (_see_ Coleridge). In 1795 he _m._ his first wife, Edith Fricker, and thus became the brother-in-law of Coleridge. Shortly afterwards he visited Spain, and in 1800 Portugal, and laid the foundations of his thorough knowledge of the history and literature of the Peninsula. Between these two periods of foreign travel he had attempted the study of law, which proved entirely uncongenial; and in 1803 he settled at Greta Hall, Keswick, to which neighbourhood the Coleridges had also come. Here he set himself to a course of indefatigable literary toil which only ended with his life. _Thalaba_ had appeared in 1801, and there followed _Madoc_ (1805), _The Curse of Kehama_ (1810), _Roderic, the Last of the Goths_ (1814), and _A Vision of Judgment_ (1821); and in prose a _History of Brazil_, Lives of Nelson (1813), Wesley (1820), and Bunyan (1830), _The Book of the Church_ (1824), _History of the Peninsular War_ (1823-32), _Naval History_, and _The Doctor_ (1834-37). In addition to this vast amount of work he had been from 1808 a constant contributor to the _Quarterly Review_. In 1839 when he was failing both in body and mind he _m._, as his second wife, Miss Caroline Ann Bowles, who had for 20 years been his intimate friend, and by whom his few remaining years were soothed. Though the name of S. still bulks somewhat largely in the history of our literature, his works, with a few exceptions, are now little read, and those of them (his longer poems, _Thalaba_ and _Kehama_) on which he himself based his hopes of lasting fame, least of all. To this result their length, remoteness from living interests, and the impression that their often splendid diction is rather eloquence than true poetry, have contributed. Some of his shorter poems, _e.g._, “The Holly Tree,” and “The Battle of Blenheim” still live, but his fame now rests on his vigorous prose and especially on his classic _Life of Nelson_. Like Wordsworth and Coleridge, S. began life as a democratic visionary, and was strongly influenced by the French Revolution, but gradually cooled down into a pronounced Tory. He was himself greater and better than any of his works, his life being a noble record of devotion to duty and unselfish benevolence. He held the office of Poet Laureate from 1813, and had a pension from Government. He declined a baronetcy.
_Life and Correspondence_ (6 vols., 1849-50) by his younger son, Rev. C. Southey. _Life_ by Dowden in Men of Letters (1880).
SOUTHWELL, ROBERT (1561?-1595).–Poet, _b._ at Horsham St. Faith’s, Norfolk, of good Roman Catholic family, and _ed._ at Douay, Paris, and Rome, he became a Jesuit, and showed such learning and ability as to be appointed Prefect of the English Coll. In 1586 he came to England with Garnett, the superior of the English province, and became chaplain to the Countess of Arundel. His being in England for more than 40 days then rendered him liable to the punishment of death and disembowelment, and in 1592 he was apprehended and imprisoned in the Tower for three years, during which he was tortured 13 times. He was then put on trial and executed, February 22, 1595. He was the author of _St. Peter’s Complaint_ and _The Burning Babe_, a short poem of great imaginative power, and of several prose religious works, including _St. Mary Magdalene’s Teares_, _A Short Rule of Good Life_, _The Triumphs over Death_, etc.
SPEDDING, JAMES (1808-1881).–Editor of Bacon’s works, _s._ of a Cumberland squire, and _ed._ at Bury St. Edmunds and Camb., was for some years in the Colonial Office. He devoted himself to the ed. of Bacon’s works, and the endeavour to clear his character against the aspersions of Macaulay and others. The former was done in conjunction with Ellis and Heath, his own being much the largest share in their great ed. (1861-74); and the latter, so far as possible, in _The Life and Letters_, entirely his own. In 1878 he brought out an abridged _Life and Times of Francis Bacon_. He strongly combated the theory that B. was the author of Shakespeare’s plays. His death was caused by his being run over by a cab. He enjoyed the friendship of many of his greatest contemporaries, including Carlyle, Tennyson, and Fitzgerald.
SPEED, JOHN (1552?-1629).–Historian, _b._ at Farington, Cheshire, and brought up to the trade of a tailor, had a strong taste for history and antiquities, and wrote a _History of Great Britain_ (1611), which was long the best in existence, in collecting material for which he had assistance from Cotton, Spelman, and other investigators. He also _pub._ useful maps of Great Britain and Ireland, and of various counties, etc. In 1616 appeared his _Cloud of Witnesses confirming … the truth of God’s most holie Word_. His maps were _coll._ and with descriptions _pub._ in 1611 as _Theatre of the Empire of Great Britain_.
SPEKE, J.H., (_see under_ GRANT, J.A.)
SPELMAN, SIR HENRY (1564?-1641).–Historian and antiquary, _b._ at Congham, Norfolk, studied at Camb., and entered Lincoln’s Inn. He wrote valuable works on legal and ecclesiastical antiquities, including _History of Sacrilege_ (_pub._ 1698), _Glossarium Archaeologicum_ (1626 and 1664), a glossary of obsolete law-terms, _A History of the English Councils_ (1639), and _Tenures by Knight-service_ (1641). His writings have furnished valuable material for subsequent historians. He sat in Parliament and on various commissions, and in recompense of his labours was voted a grant of L300.
SPENCE, JOSEPH (1699-1768).–Anecdotist, _b._ at Kingsclere, Hants, and _ed._ at Winchester and Oxf., he entered the Church, and held various preferments, including a prebend at Durham, and was Prof. of Poetry at Oxf. He wrote an _Essay on Pope’s Odyssey_, which gained for him the friendship of the poet, of whose conversation he made notes, collecting likewise anecdotes of him and of other celebrities which were _pub._ in 1820, and are of great value, inasmuch as they preserve much matter illustrative of the literary history of the 18th century which would otherwise have been lost.
SPENCER, HERBERT (1820-1903).–Philosopher, _b._ at Derby, the _s._ of a teacher, from whom, and from his uncle, mentioned below, he received most of his education. His immediate family circle was strongly Dissenting in its theological atmosphere, his _f._, originally a Methodist, having become a Quaker, while his mother remained a Wesleyan. At 13 he was sent to the care of his uncle, Thomas S., a clergyman, near Bath, but a Radical and anti-corn-law agitator. Declining a Univ. career he became a school assistant, but shortly after accepted a situation under the engineer of the London and Birmingham railway, in which he remained until the great railway crisis of 1846 threw him out of employment. Previous to this he had begun to write political articles in the _Nonconformist_; he now resolved to devote himself to journalism, and in 1848 was appointed sub-ed. of the _Economist_. Thereafter he became more and more absorbed in the consideration of the problems of sociology and the development of the doctrine of evolution as applied thereto, gradually leading up to the completion of a system of philosophy which was the work of his life. His fundamental proposition is that society, like the individual, is an organism subject to evolution, and the scope of this idea is gradually expanded so as to embrace in its sweep the whole range of cognisible phenomena. Among the books which he _pub._ in exposition of his views may be mentioned _Social Statics_ (1850), _Principles of Psychology_ (1855), _First Principles_ (1862), _Principles of Biology_ (1867), _Data of Ethics_ (1879), _Principles of Sociology_ (1877), _Political Institutions_ (1882), and _Man versus the State_ (1884). His works have been translated into most European languages–some of them into Chinese and Japanese. The most characteristic qualities of S. as a thinker are his powers of generalisation and analysis. He left an autobiography, in which he subjects his own personality to analysis with singular detachment of mind.
_Life_ by David Duncan, LL.D., _Life_ by A.J. Thompson. _See_ also _Outlines of Cosmic Philosophy_, Fishe (1874), and books on S. and his philosophy by Hudson (1894), White (1897), and Macpherson (1890).
SPENCER, WILLIAM ROBERT (1769-1834).–Poet, _ed._ at Harrow and Oxf., belonged to the Whig set of Fox and Sheridan. He wrote graceful _vers de societe_, made translations from Buerger, and is best remembered by his well-known ballad of _Gelert_. After a life of extravagance he _d._ in poverty in Paris.
SPENSER, EDMUND (1552?-1599).–Poet, was _b._ in East Smithfield, London, the _s._ of John S., described as gentleman and journeyman in the art of cloth-making, who had come to London from Lancashire. In 1561 the poet was sent to Merchant Taylor’s School, then newly opened, and in 1569 he proceeded to Pembroke Hall, Camb., as a sizar, taking his degree in 1576. Among his friends there were Edward Kirke, who ed. the _Shepheard’s Calendar_, and Gabriel Harvey, the critic. While still at school he had contributed 14 sonnet-visions to Van de Noot’s _Theatre for Worldlings_ (1569). On leaving the Univ. S. went to the north, probably to visit his relations in Lancashire, and in 1578, through his friend Harvey, he became known to Leicester and his brother-in-law, Philip Sidney. The next year, 1579, saw the publication of _The Shepheard’s Calendar_ in 12 eclogues. It was dedicated to Sidney, who had become his friend and patron, and was received with acclamation, all who had ears for poetry perceiving that a new and great singer had arisen. The following year S. was appointed sec. to Lord Grey of Wilton, Deputy for Ireland, a strict Puritan, and accompanied him to Ireland. At the same time he appears to have begun the _Faerie Queen_. In 1581 he was appointed Registrar of Chancery, and received a grant of the Abbey and Castle of Enniscorthy, which was followed in 1586 by a grant of the Castle of Kilcolman in County Cork, a former possession of the Earls of Desmond with 3000 acres attached. Simultaneously, however, a heavy blow fell upon him in the death of Sidney at the Battle of Zutphen. The loss of this dear friend he commemorated in his lament of _Astrophel_. In 1590 he was visited by Sir Walter Raleigh, who persuaded him to come to England, and presented him to the Queen, from whom he received a pension of L50, which does not, however, appear to have been regularly paid, and on the whole his experiences of the Court did not yield him much satisfaction. In the same year his reputation as a poet was vastly augmented by the publication of the first three books of the _Faerie Queen_, dedicated to Elizabeth. The enthusiasm with which they were received led the publisher to bring out a collection of other writings of S. under the general title of _Complaints_, and including _Mother Hubbard’s Tale_ (a satire on the Court and on the conflict then being waged between the old faith and the new), _Teares of the Muses_, and _The Ruins of Time_. Having seen these ventures launched, S. returned to Kilcolman and wrote _Colin Clout’s come Home Again_, one of the brightest and most vigorous of his poems, not, however, _pub._ until 1595. In the following year appeared his _Four Hymns_, two on _Love and Beauty_ and two on _Heavenly Love and Beauty_, and the _Prothalamion_ on the marriage of two daughters of the Earl of Worcester. He also _pub._ in prose his _View of Ireland_, a work full of shrewd observation and practical statesmanship. In 1594 he was _m._ to Elizabeth Boyle, whom he had courted in _Amoretti_, and his union with whom he now celebrated in the magnificent _Epithalamion_, by many regarded as his most perfect poem. In 1595 he returned to England, taking with him the second part of the _Faerie Queen_, _pub._ in 1596. In 1598 he was made Sheriff of Cork, and in the same year his fortunes suffered a final eclipse. The rebellion of Tyrone broke out, his castle was burned, and in the conflagration his youngest child, an infant, perished, he himself with his wife and remaining children escaping with difficulty. He joined the President, Sir T. Norris, who sent him with despatches to London, where he suddenly _d._ on January 16, 1599, as was long believed in extreme destitution. This, however, happily appears to be at least doubtful. He was buried in Westminster Abbey near Chaucer, and a monument was erected to his memory in 1620 by the Countess of Dorset.
The position of S. in English poetry is below Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Milton only. The first far excels him in narrative and constructive power and in humour, and the last in austere grandeur of conception; but for richness and beauty of imagination and exquisite sweetness of music he is unsurpassed except by Shakespeare. He has been called the poets’ poet, a title which he well merits, not only by virtue of the homage which all the more imaginative poets have yielded him, but because of the almost unequalled influence he has exercised upon the whole subsequent course and expression of English poetry, which he enriched with the stanza which bears his name, and which none since him have used with more perfect mastery. His faults are prolixity, indirectness, and want of constructive power, and consequently the sustained sweetness and sumptuousness of his verse are apt to cloy. His great work, the _Faerie Queen_, is but a gorgeous fragment, six books out of a projected twelve; but probably few or none of its readers have regretted its incompleteness. In it Protestantism and Puritanism receive their most poetic and imaginative presentation and vindication.
SUMMARY.–_B._ 1552, _ed._ Merchant Taylor’s School and Camb., became known to Leicester and Sir P. Sidney 1578, _pub._ _Shepheard’s Calendar_ 1579, appointed sec. to Lord Deputy of Ireland 1580, and began _Faerie Queen_, receives various appointments and grants 1581-6, _pub._ _Astrophel_ in memory of Sidney 1586, visited by Raleigh and by him presented to Queen Elizabeth, who pensioned him 1590, and in same year _pub._ first three books of _Faerie Queen_, _Teares of Muses_, etc., writes _Colin Clout_, _pub._ 1595, and in 1596 _pub._ _Four Hymns_ and _Prothalamion_, _m._ E. Boyle 1594, whom he had courted in _Amoretti_, and now celebrated in the _Epithalamion_, returned to England 1595, Sheriff of Cork 1598, in which year the rebellion broke out and ruined his fortunes, returned to London and _d._ 1599.
There have been very numerous ed. of the works, among which may be mentioned the Globe (1899), and Dr. Grosart’s (10 vols., 1882-84). There is an excellent biography by Dean Church (1879).
SPOTTISWOOD, JOHN (1565-1639).–Historian, _s._ of John S., minister of Midcalder and Superintendent of Lothian. Entering the Church he gained the favour of James VI., and was his chief instrument in his endeavours to restore Episcopal church-government in Scotland. He became Archbishop successively of Glasgow and St. Andrews, and in 1635 Lord Chancellor of Scotland. On the rising caused by the introduction of the service-book, he had to flee from Scotland, and was excommunicated by the General Assembly (1638). He wrote a _History of the Church and State of Scotland_, _pub._ 1655. It is, of course, written from the Episcopalian standpoint, as Calderwood’s is from the Presbyterian.
SPRAGUE, CHARLES (1791-1875).–Poet, _b._ at Boston, Mass., had some reputation as a writer of prize poems, odes, and domestic poems. To the first class belong _Curiosity_ and _Shakespeare Ode_, and to the latter, _The Family Meeting_ and _I see Thee Still_, an elegy on his sister.
SPRAT, THOMAS (1635-1713).–Divine and writer of memoirs, _b._ at Beaminster, Dorset, _ed._ at Oxf., was a mathematician, and one of the group of scientific men among whom the Royal Society, of which he was one of the first members and the historian, had its origin. He wrote a Life of his friend Cowley the poet, and an account of Young’s plot for the restoration of James II. His _History of the Royal Society_ is his principal work, but he also wrote poems, and had a high reputation as a preacher. His literary style gives him a distinguished place among English writers. He held various, high preferments, and _d._ Bishop of Rochester.
SPURGEON, CHARLES HADDON (1834-1892).–_B._ at Kelvedon, Essex, left the Independents and joined the Baptist communion and became, at the age of 20, pastor of New Park Street Chapel, London, where he attained an unprecedented popularity. In 1859 the Metropolitan Tabernacle was erected for him. He was a decided Calvinist in his theological views, and was strongly opposed to modern critical movements. He possessed in an eminent degree two of the great requisites of effective oratory, a magnificent voice and a command of pure idiomatic Saxon English. His sermons, composed and _pub._ weekly, had an enormous circulation, and were regularly translated into several languages. In addition to his pastoral labours he superintended an almshouse, a pastor’s coll., and an orphanage; and he was likewise a voluminous author, publishing, in addition to his sermons, numerous works, including _The Treasury of David_ (a commentary on the Psalms).
STANHOPE, PHILIP HENRY, 5TH EARL STANHOPE (1805-1875).–Historian, was _b._ at Walmer, and _ed._ at Oxf. He sat in the House of Commons for Wootton Bassett and Hertford, held some minor official appointments under Peel, and identified himself with many useful measures, specially in regard to literature and art. His writings, which are all remarkable for industrious collection of facts, careful and impartial sifting and weighing of evidence, and a clear, sober, and agreeable style, include _History of England from the Peace of Utrecht to the Peace of Versailles_ (1836-63), and histories of the _War of the Spanish Succession_ (1832), and of the _Reign of Queen Anne_ (1870), besides Lives of the younger Pitt (1861) and of Lord ‘Chesterfield. As an author he is best known as Viscount Mahon.
STANLEY, ARTHUR PENRHYN (1815-1881).–Historian, biographer, and theologian, _s._ of Edward S., Bishop of Norwich, _b._ at Alderley, Cheshire, of which his _f._ was then rector, _ed._ at Rugby and Oxf., became a Fellow of Univ. Coll. Taking orders in 1839 he became Canon of Canterbury 1851, and of Christ Church 1858, and Dean of Westminster 1864. He was also Prof. of Ecclesiastical History at Oxf. 1856. His ecclesiastical position was Erastian and latitudinarian, and his practical aim in Church politics comprehension. He gave great offence to the High Church party by his championing of Colenso, W.G. Ward, Jowett, and others, by his preaching in the pulpits of the Church of Scotland and in other ways, and his latitudinarianism made him equally obnoxious to many others. On the other hand, his singular personal charm and the fascination of his literary style secured for him a very wide popularity. He was a prolific author, his works including _Life of Dr. Arnold_ (of Rugby) (1844), whose favourite pupil he was, and _Memorials of Canterbury_ (1854), _Sinai and Palestine_ (1855), _Lectures on the Eastern Church_ (1861), _History of the Jewish Church_ (1863, etc.), _Historical Memorials of Westminster Abbey_ (1867), _Lectures on the History of the Church of Scotland_ (1872), besides various commentaries. In his historical writings he aimed rather at conveying a vivid and picturesque general effect than at minute accuracy of detail or philosophical views. His masterpiece is his _Life of Dr. Arnold_, which is one of the great biographies in the language. His wife was Lady Augusta Bruce, to whom he was _m._ in 1868.
STANLEY, SIR HENRY MORTON (1841-1904).–Traveller in Africa, _b._ in America, went to find, and found, Livingstone, and wrote an account of his adventures in the quest, _How I found Livingstone_. Other works were _In Darkest Africa_ and _Through the Dark Continent_.
STANLEY, THOMAS (1625-1678).–Philosopher and scholar, connected with the Derby family, _ed._ at Camb., was the author of some poems and of a biographical _History of Philosophy_ (4 vols., 1655-62). He was learned in the classics, and translated from the Latin and late Greek as well as from the Italian and Portuguese, and ed. AEschylus. His poetry is thoughtful and gracefully expressed.
STANYHURST, RICHARD (1547-1618).–Translator, was at Oxf., and studied law at Furnivall’s Inn and Lincoln’s Inn. He collaborated with Holinshed (_q.v._). His principal literary achievement was a grotesquely stiff, clumsy, and prosaic translation of the first four books of the _AEneid_ into English hexameters. He also translated some of the Psalms.
STEDMAN, EDMUND CLARENCE, L.H.D., LL.D., (1833-1908).–American poet and critic. _Poems Lyric and Idyllic_ (1860), _Alice of Monmouth_ (1864), _The Blameless Prince_ (1869), _Victorian Poets_ (1875-87), _Lyrics and Idylls_ (1879), _Poets of America_ (1885), _Victorian Anthology_ (1896), _American Anthology_ (1896), etc.
STEELE, SIR RICHARD (1672-1729).–Essayist and dramatist, _s._ of a Dublin attorney, who _d._ when his _s._ was 5 years old, was on the nomination of the Duke of Ormond, sent to the Charterhouse School, where his friendship with Addison began, and thence went to Oxf., but left without taking a degree, and enlisted in the Horse Guards, for which he was disinherited by a rich relation. He, however, gained the favour of his colonel, Lord Cutts, himself a poet, and rose to the rank of captain. With the view of setting before himself a high ideal of conduct (to which unhappily he was never able to attain), he at this time wrote a treatise on morals entitled _The Christian Hero_ (1701). Abandoning this vein, he next produced three comedies, _The Funeral, or Grief a la Mode_ (1702), _The Tender Husband_ (1703), and _The Lying Lover_ (1704). Two years later he was appointed Gentleman Waiter to Prince George of Denmark, and in 1707 he was made Gazetteer; and in the same year he _m._ as his second wife Mary Scurlock, his “dear Prue,” who seems, however, to have been something of a termagant. She had considerable means, but the incorrigible extravagance of S. soon brought on embarrassment. In 1709 he laid the foundations of his fame by starting the _Tatler_, the first of those periodicals which are so characteristic a literary feature of that age. In this he had the invaluable assistance of Addison, who contributed 42 papers out of a total of 271, and helped with others. The _Tatler_ was followed by the _Spectator_, in which Addison co-operated to a still greater extent. It was even a greater success, and ran to 555 numbers, exclusive of a brief revival by Addison in which S. had no part, and in its turn was followed by the _Guardian_. It is on his essays in these that the literary fame of S. rests. With less refinement and delicacy of wit than Addison, he had perhaps more knowledge of life, and a wider sympathy, and like him he had a sincere desire for the reformation of morals and manners. In the keen political strife of the times he fought stoutly and honestly on the Whig side, one result of which was that he lost his office of Gazetteer, and was in 1714 expelled from the House of Commons to which he had just been elected. The next year gave a favourable turn to his fortunes. The accession of George I. brought back the Whigs, and S. was appointed to various offices, including a commissionership on forfeited estates in Scotland, which took him to Edinburgh, where he was welcomed by all the _literati_ there. Nothing, however, could keep him out of financial embarrassments, and other troubles followed: his wife _d._; differences, arose with Addison, who _d._ before a reconciliation could be effected. The remaining years were clouded by financial troubles and ill-health. His last work was a play, _The Conscious Lovers_ (1722). He left London and lived at Hereford and at Carmarthen, where he _d._ after a partial loss of his faculties from paralysis.
_Lives_ by Austin Dobson (1886) and G.A. Aitken (1889). Ed., _Plays_ by Aitken (1893), Essays (selected) Clarendon Press (1885), _Tatler_, Aitken (1898), _Spectator_, H. Morley (1868), Gregory Smith (1897-8), Aitken (1898).
STEEVENS, GEORGE (1736-1800).–Shakespearian commentator, _ed._ at Eton and Camb. He issued various reprints of quarto ed. of Shakespeare, and assisted Dr. Johnson in his ed., and also in his _Lives of the Poets_. In 1793 he himself brought out a new ed. of Shakespeare, in which he dealt somewhat freely with the text. He was in constant controversy with Ritson and other literary antiquaries, and was also an acute detector of literary forgeries, including those of Chatterton and Ireland.
STEEVENS, GEORGE WARRINGTON (1869-1900).–Journalist and miscellaneous writer, _b._ at Sydenham, and _ed._ at City of London School and Oxf., took to journalism, in which he distinguished himself by his clearness of vision and vivid style. Connected successively with the _National Observer_, the _Pall Mall Gazette_, and the _Daily Mail_, he utilised the articles which appeared in these and other publications in various books, such as _The Land of the Dollar_ (America) (1897), _With Kitchener to Kartoum_, and _The Tragedy of Dreyfus_. His most striking work, however, was _Monologues of the Dead_ (1895). He went as war correspondent to South Africa in 1900, and _d._ of enteric fever at Ladysmith.
STEPHEN, SIR JAMES (1789-1859).–Statesman and historical writer, _s._ of James S., Master in Chancery, _ed._ at Camb., and called to the Bar at Lincoln’s Inn 1811. After practising with success, accepted appointment of permanent counsel to Colonial Office and Board of Trade 1825, and was subsequently, 1826-47, permanent Under-Sec. for the Colonies, in which capacity he exercised an immense influence on the colonial policy of the empire, and did much to bring about the abolition of the slave trade. Impaired health led to his resignation, when he was made K.C.B. and a Privy Councillor. He was afterwards Prof. of Modern History at Camb. 1849-59, and of the same subject at the East India Coll. at Haileybury 1855-57. He wrote _Essays in Ecclesiastical Biography_ (1849) and _Lectures on the History of France_ (1852).
STEPHEN, SIR LESLIE (1832-1904).–Biographer and critic, _s._ of the above, was _b._ in London, and _ed._ at Eton, King’s Coll., London, and Camb., where he obtained a tutorial Fellowship, and took orders. He came under the influence of Mill, Darwin, and H. Spencer, and devoted himself largely to the study of economics. His religious views having undergone a change, he gave up the clerical character and his Fellowship, and became a pronounced Agnostic. In 1865 he definitely adopted a literary career, and contributed to the _Saturday Review_, _Fraser’s Magazine_, and other periodicals. In 1873 he _pub._ a collection of his essays as _Free Thinking and Plain Speaking_, which he followed up with _An Agnostic’s Apology_ (1893). He became ed. in 1871 of the _Cornhill Magazine_, in which appeared the essays afterwards _coll._ as _Hours in a Library_ (3 series, 1874-79). His chief work was _The History of English Thought in the Eighteenth Century_ (1876-81). He also wrote _Science of Ethics_ (1882), and biographies of _Dr. Johnson_ (1878), _Pope_ (1880). _Swift_ (1882), and _George Eliot_ (English Men of Letters Series). In 1882 he became ed. of the _Dictionary of National Biography_, to which he devoted much labour, besides contributing many of the principal articles. _The English Utilitarians_ appeared in 1900. As a biographical and critical writer he holds a very high place. His first wife was a _dau._ of Thackeray. In recognition of his literary eminence he was made a K.C.B.
_Life and Letters_ by F.W. Maitland (1906).
STEPHENS, THOMAS (1821-1875).–Welsh historian and critic, _b._ at Pont Nedd Fechan, Glamorganshire, _s._ of a shoemaker. His works include _The Literature of the Kymry_ (1849), _The History of Trial by Jury in Wales_, and an essay in which he demolished the claim of the Welsh under Madoc to the discovery of America. He also wrote on the life and works of the bard Aneurin. The critical methods which he adopted in his works often made him unpopular with the less discriminating enthusiasts for the glory of Wales, but he earned the respect of serious scholars.
STERLING, JOHN (1806-1844).–Essayist and miscellaneous writer, _s._ of Edward S., a well-known writer in the _Times_, was _b._ in Bute, and _ed._ at Glasgow and Camb. At the latter he became acquainted with a group of brilliant men, including F.D. Maurice, Trench, and Monckton Milnes. He took orders and became curate to Julius Hare (_q.v._); but intellectual difficulties and indifferent health led to his resignation within a year, and the rest of his life was passed in alternating between England and warmer climes. He wrote for _Blackwood’s Magazine_, the _London and Westminster_, and _Quarterly Reviews_, and _pub._ _Essays and Tales_, _The Election_, a humorous poem, _Strafford_, a tragedy, and _Richard Coeur de Lion_, a serio-comic poem of which three books out of eight were _pub._ His memory, perpetuated in a remarkable memoir by Carlyle, lives rather by what he was than by anything he did. His character and intellect appear to have exercised a singular influence on the eminent men he numbered among his friends.
STERNE, LAURENCE (1713-1768).–Novelist, _s._ of an officer in the army, and the great-grandson of an Archbishop of York, was _b._ at Clonmel, where his father’s regiment happened to be stationed, and passed part of his boyhood in Ireland. At the age of 10 he was handed over to a relation, Mr. Sterne of Elvington in Yorkshire, who put him to school at Halifax, and thereafter sent him to Camb. He entered the Church, a profession for which he was very indifferently fitted, and through family influence procured the living of Sutton, Yorkshire. In 1741 he _m._ a lady–Miss Lumley–whose influence obtained for him in addition an adjacent benefice, and he also became a prebendary of York. It was not until 1760 that the first two vols. of his famous novel, _Tristram Shandy_, appeared. Its peculiar and original style of humour, its whimsicality, and perhaps also its defiance of conventionality, and even its frequent lapses into indecorum, achieved for it an immediate and immense popularity. S. went up to London and became the lion of the day. The third and fourth vols. appeared in 1761, the fifth and sixth in 1762, the seventh and eighth in 1765, and the last in 1767. Meanwhile he had _pub._ the _Sermons of Mr. Yorick_ (1760), and his remaining work, _The Sentimental Journey_ appeared in 1768. From the time of his finding himself a celebrity his parishioners saw but little of him, his time being passed either in the gaieties of London or in travelling on the Continent. Latterly he was practically separated from his wife and only _dau._, to the former of whom his behaviour had been anything but exemplary. His health, which had begun to give way soon after his literary career had commenced, finally broke down, and he fell into a consumption, of which he _d._ in London on March 18, 1768, utterly alone and unattended. His body was followed to the grave by one coach containing his publisher and another gentleman; and it was exhumed and appeared in a few days upon the table of the anatomical professor at Camb. He _d._ in debt, but a subscription was raised for his wife and _dau._, the latter of whom _m._ a Frenchman, and is said to have perished under the guillotine. Worthless as a man, S. possessed undoubted genius. He had wit, originality, and pathos, though the last not seldom runs into mawkishness, and an exquisitely delicate and glancing style. He has contributed some immortal characters to English fiction, including Uncle Toby and Corporal Trim. His great faults as a writer are affectation and a peculiarly deliberate kind of indecency, which his profession renders all the more offensive; and he was by no means scrupulous in adopting, without acknowledgment, the good things of previous writers.
_Works_ ed. by Prof. Saintsbury (6 vols., 1894). _See_ also Macmillan’s Library of English classics. _Lives_ by P. Fitzgerald (1896); and H.D. Traill in English Men of Letters Series.
STERNHOLD, THOMAS (1500-1549), HOPKINS JOHN (_d._ 1570).–Were associated in making the metrical version of the Psalms, which was attached to the Prayer-book, and was for 200 years the chief hymn-book of the Church of England. It is a commonplace and tame rendering. The collection was not completed until 1562. It was gradually superseded by the version of Tate and Brady.
STEVENSON, ROBERT LOUIS (1850-1894).–Novelist and essayist, was _b._ at Edin., the _s._ of Thomas S., a distinguished civil engineer. His health was extremely delicate. He was destined for the engineering profession, in which his family had for two generations been eminent, but having neither inclination nor physical strength for it, he in 1871 exchanged it for law, and was called to the Bar in 1875, but never practised. From childhood his interests had been literary, and in 1871 he began to contribute to the _Edinburgh University Magazine_ and the _Portfolio_. A tour in a canoe in 1876 led to the publication in 1878 of his first book, _An Inland Voyage_. In the same year, _The New Arabian Nights_, afterwards separately _pub._ appeared in magazines, and in 1879 he brought out _Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes_. In that year he went to California and _m._ Mrs. Osbourne. Returning to Europe in 1880 he entered upon a period of productiveness which, in view of his wretched health, was, both as regards quantity and worth, highly remarkable. The year 1881 was marked by his unsuccessful candidature for the Chair of Constitutional Law and History at Edin., and by the publication of _Virginibus Puerisque_. Other works followed in rapid succession. _Treasure Island_ (1882), _Prince Otto_ and _The Child’s Garden of Verse_ (1885), _Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde_ and _Kidnapped_ (1886), _Underwoods_ (poetry), _Memories and Portraits_ (essays), and _The Merry Men_, a collection of short stories (1887), and in 1888 _The Black Arrow_. In 1887 he went to America, and in the following year visited the South Sea Islands where, in Samoa, he settled in 1890, and where he _d._ and is buried. In 1889 _The Master of Ballantrae_ appeared, in 1892 _Across the Plains_ and _The Wrecker_, in 1893 _Island Nights Entertainments_ and _Catriona_, and in 1894 _The Ebb Tide_ in collaboration with his step-son, Mr. Lloyd Osbourne. By this time his health was completely broken, but to the last he continued the struggle, and left the fragments _St. Ives_ and _Weir of Hermiston_, the latter containing some of his best work. They were _pub._ in 1897. Though the originality and power of S.’s writings was recognised from the first by a select few, it was only slowly that he caught the ear of the general public. The tide may be said to have turned with the publication of _Treasure Island_ in 1882, which at once gave him an assured place among the foremost imaginative writers of the day. His greatest power is, however, shown in those works which deal with Scotland in the 18th century, such as _Kidnapped_, _Catriona_, and _Weir of Hermiston_, and in those, _e.g._, _The Child’s Garden of Verse_, which exhibit his extraordinary insight into the psychology of child-life; _Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde_ is a marvellously powerful and subtle psychological story, and some of his short tales also are masterpieces. Of these _Thrawn Janet_ and _Will of the Mill_ may be mentioned as examples in widely different kinds. His excursions into the drama in collaboration with W.E. Henley–_Deacon Brodie_, _Macaire_, _Admiral Guinea_, _Beau Austin_,–added nothing to his reputation. His style is singularly fascinating, graceful, various, subtle, and with a charm all its own.
_Works_, Edinburgh ed. (28 vols., 1894-98). _Life_ by Grahame Balfour (1901), _Letters_, S. Colvin (1899).
STEWART, DUGALD (1753-1828).–Philosopher, _s._ of Matthew S., Prof. of Mathematics at Edin., was _b._ in the Coll. buildings, and at the age of 19 began to assist his _f._ in his classes, receiving the appointment of regular assistant two years later. In 1785 he became Prof. of Moral Philosophy, and rendered the chair illustrious by his learning and eloquence, his pupils including Lords Palmerston, Russell, and Lansdowne. S. was, however, rather a brilliant expositor than an original thinker, and in the main followed Reid (_q.v._). His works include _Philosophy of the Human Mind_, in three vols., _pub._ respectively in 1792, 1813, and 1827, _Outlines of Moral Philosophy_ (1793), _Philosophical Essays_ (1810), _Dissertation on the Progress of Metaphysical and Ethical Philosophy_ (1815, part II. 1821), and _View of the Active and Moral Powers of Man_. He also wrote memoirs of Robertson the historian, Adam Smith, and Reid. The Whig party, which he had always supported, on their accession to power, created for him the office of Gazette-writer for Scotland, in recognition of his services to philosophy. His later years were passed in retirement at Kinneil House on the Forth. His works were ed. by Sir William Hamilton.
STILLINGFLEET, EDWARD (1635-1699).–Theologian, _b._ at Cranbourne, Dorsetshire, _ed._ at Camb., entered the Church, and held many preferments, including a Royal Chaplaincy, the Deanery of St. Paul’s (1678), and the Bishopric of Worcester (1689). He was a frequent speaker in the House of Lords, and had considerable influence as a Churchman. A keen controversialist, he wrote many treatises, including _The Irenicum_ (advocating compromise with the Presbyterians), _Antiquities of the British Churches_, and _The Unreasonableness of Separation_. S. was a good and honest man and had the respect of his strongest opponents.
STIRLING, JAMES HUTCHISON (1820-1909).–Philosopher, _b._ in Glasgow, and _ed._ there and at Edin., where he studied medicine, which he practised until the death of his _f._ in 1851, after which he devoted himself to philosophy. His _Secret of Hegel_ (1865) gave a great impulse to the study and understanding of the Hegelian philosophy both at home and in America, and was also accepted as a work of authority in Germany and Italy. Other works, all characterised: by keen philosophical insight and masterly power of exposition are _Complete Text-book to Kant_ (1881), _Philosophy and Theology_ (1890), _What is Thought? or the Problem of Philosophy_ (1900), and _The Categories_ (1903). Less abstruse are _Jerrold, Tennyson, and Macaulay_ (1868), _Burns in Drama_ (1878), and _Philosophy in the Poets_ (1885).
STIRLING, WILLIAM ALEXANDER, EARL of (1567-1640).–Poet, _s._ of A. of Menstrie, and _cr._ Earl of S. by Charles I., 1633, was a courtier, and held many offices of state. He studied at Glasgow and Leyden, and wrote among other poems, partly in Latin, sonnets and four _Monarchicke Tragedies_, _Darius_, _Croesus_, _The Alexandraean Tragedy_, and _Julius Caesar_ (1603-7), the motive of which is the fall of ambition, and which, though dignified, have little inspiration. He also assisted James I. in his metrical version of the Psalms. He _d._ insolvent in London. The grant of Nova Scotia which he had received became valueless owing to the French conquests in that region.
STIRLING-MAXWELL, SIR WILLIAM (1818-1878).–Historian and writer on art, _s._ of Archibald Stirling of Keir, succeeded to the estates and title of his uncle, Sir John Maxwell of Pollok, as well as to Keir, _ed._ at Camb., afterwards travelled much. He sat in the House of Commons for Perthshire, which he twice represented, 1852-68 and 1874-80, served on various commissions and public bodies, and was Lord Rector successively of the Univ. of St. Andrews and Edin. and Chancellor of that of Glasgow. His works include _Annals of the Artists of Spain_ (1848), _The Cloister Life of the Emperor Charles V._ (1852), and _Don John of Austria_, _pub._ posthumously in 1885. They were all distinguished by research and full information, and the last two are standard authorities He _m._ as his second wife the Hon. Mrs. Norton (_q.v._).
STOCKTON, FRANCIS RICHARD (1834-1902).–_B._ at Philadelphia, was an engraver and journalist. He became well known as a writer of stories for children, and of amusing books of which _Rudder Grange_ (1879) is the best known. _The Lady and the Tiger_ was also highly popular. Others are _Adventures of Captain Horne_, _Mrs. Null_, _Casting Away of Mrs. Leeks and Mrs. Aleshine_, _The Hundredth Man_, _Great Stone of Sardis_, _Captain’s Toll-gate_, etc. His work was very unequal in interest.
STODDARD, RICHARD HENRY (1825-1903).–Poet, _b._ at Hingham, Mass., worked in a foundry, and afterwards in New York Custom House, wrote a Life of Washington, but is chiefly known as a poet, his poetical works including _Songs in Summer_ (1857), _The King’s Bell_, _The Lions Cub_, etc.
STORER, THOMAS (1571-1604).–Poet, _b._ in London, and _ed._ at Oxf., wrote a long poem, _The Life and Death of Thomas Wolsey, Cardinal_.
STORY, WILLIAM WETMORE (1819-1895).–Sculptor, poet, etc., _b._ at Salem, Mass., was intended for the law, but became a sculptor and an eminent man of letters. His writings include _Roba di Roma_ (1862), _The Tragedy of Nero_ (1875), _The Castle of St. Angelo_ (1877), _He and She_ (1883), _Conversations in a Studio_, _A Poet’s Portfolio_ (1894), etc.
STOW, JOHN (1525-1605).–Historian and antiquary, _b._ in London, _s._ of a tailor, and brought up to the same trade. He had, however, an irresistible taste for transcribing and collecting ancient documents, and pursuing antiquarian and historical researches, to which he ultimately entirely devoted himself. This he was enabled to do partly through the munificence of Archbishop Parker. He made large collections of old books and manuscripts, and wrote and ed. several works of importance and authority, including _The Woorkes of Geoffrey Chaucer_, _Summarie of Englyshe Chronicles_ (1561), afterwards called _Annales of England_, ed. of the chronicles of Matthew Paris and others, of Holinshed’s _Chronicle_, and _A Survey of London_ (1598). It is sad to think that the only reward of his sacrifices and labours in the public interest was a patent from James I. to collect “among our loving subjects their voluntary contributions and kind gratuities.”
STOWE, MRS. HARRIET BEECHER (1811?-1896).–Novelist and miscellaneous writer, _dau._ of Dr. Lyman Beecher, a well-known American clergyman, and sister of Henry Ward B., one of the most popular preachers whom America has produced, was _b._ at Litchfield, Connecticut, in 1811 or 1812. After spending some years as a teacher, she _m._ the Rev. Calvin E. Stowe. Up till 1852 all she had written was a little vol. of stories which failed to attract attention. In that year, at the suggestion of a sister-in-law, she decided to write something against slavery, and produced _Uncle Tom’s Cabin_, which originally appeared in serial form in a magazine, _The National Era_. It did not at the time receive much attention, but on its appearance in a separate form it took the world by storm. Its sale soon reached 400,000 copies, and the reprints have probably reached a far greater number. It was translated into numerous foreign languages, and had a powerful effect in hurrying on the events which ultimately resulted in emancipation. Her later works include _Dred_, _The Minister’s Wooing_, _Agnes of Sorrento_, _The Pearl of Orr’s Island_, and _Old Town Folks_. Some of these, especially the last, are in a literary sense much superior to _Uncle Tom’s Cabin_, but none of them had more than an ordinary success. In 1869 an article on Lord Byron involved her in a somewhat unfortunate controversy.
STRICKLAND, AGNES (1796 or 1806-1874).–Historical writer, _dau._ of Thomas S., of Royden Hall, Suffolk, was _ed._ by her _f._, and began her literary career with a poem, _Worcester Field_, followed by _The Seven Ages of Woman_ and _Demetrius_. Abandoning poetry she next produced among others _Historical Tales of Illustrious British Children_ (1833), _The Pilgrims of Walsingham_ (1835), _Tales and Stories from History_ (1836). Her chief works, however, are _Lives of the Queens of England from the Norman Conquest_, and _Lives of the Queens of Scotland_, and _English Princesses, etc._ (8 vols., 1850-59), _Lives of the Bachelor Kings of England_ (1861), and _Letters of Mary Queen of Scots_, in some of which she was assisted by her sister Elizabeth. Though laborious and conscientious she lacked the judicial faculty, and her style does not rise above mediocrity.
STRODE, WILLIAM (1600-1645).–Poet, only _s._ of Philip S., who belonged to an old Devonshire family, he was _b._ at Plympton, Devonshire, and showing studious tendencies, was sent to Westminster School and Oxf. While at the Univ. he began to manifest his poetic talents, and generally distinguished himself, being elected in 1629 Public Orator. He took orders and, on Richard Corbet (_q.v._) becoming Bishop of Oxf., became his chaplain. Later he was Rector of E. Bredenham, Norfolk, and of Badley, Northants, and Canon of Christ Church. On the outbreak of the Civil War he attached himself warmly to the cause of the King. He was a High Churchman, and had a reputation as “a witty and sententious preacher, an exquisite orator, and an eminent poet.” It is therefore singular that, until the recovery of his poems by Mr. B. Dobell, he had fallen into absolute oblivion. As a poet he shines most in lyrics and elegies. With much of the artificiality of his age he shows gracefulness, a feeling for the country, and occasional gleams of tenderness. His play, _The Floating Island_, a political allegory, was produced in 1633 and played before the Court then on a visit to Oxf., where it was a subject of complaint that it had more moralising than amusement. Mr. Dobell, who ed. his poems in 1907, claims for S. the poem on “Melancholy” (“Hence all you vain delights”), hitherto attributed to Fletcher.
STRYPE, JOHN (1643-1737).–Ecclesiastical historian, _b._ at Hackney, and _ed._ at St. Paul’s School and Camb., took orders and, among other livings, held the Rectory of Low Leyton, Essex, for upwards of 60 years. He made a large collection of original documents, chiefly relating to the Tudor period, and was a voluminous author. Among his works are _Memorials of Archbishop Cranmer_ (1694), _Life of Sir Thomas Smith_, _Secretary of State to Edward VI. and Elizabeth_ (1698), _Annals of the Reformation_ (1709-31), and _Ecclesiastical Memorials_ (1721); besides Lives of Bishop Aylmer and Archbishops Grindal, Parker, and Whitgift. S., who was a painstaking and honest, but dull and unmethodical, writer, remains an authority.
STUART, GILBERT (1742-1786).–Historical writer, _s._ of George S., Prof. of Humanity (Latin) at Edin. Among his publications were _An Historical Dissertation on the English Constitution_ (1768), _Discourse on the Government and Laws of England_ (1772), _A View of Society in Europe_ (1778), and a _History of Scotland_ (1782). He was a man of extremely jealous and implacable temper, and made venomous attacks on the historical works of Robertson and Henry. His own writings, though well-written, are inaccurate.
STUBBS, WILLIAM (1825-1901).–Historian, _s._ of a solicitor, _b._ at Knaresborough, Yorkshire, and _ed._ there and at the Grammar School of Ripon, and Oxf. In 1848 he became a Fellow of Trinity Coll., and in the same year took orders and was appointed to the coll. living of Navestock in Essex, where he remained for 16 years, during which he began his historical researches, and _pub._ his earlier works. His first publication was _Hymnale Secundum Usum Sarum_. In 1858 appeared _Registrum Sacrum Anglicanum_, a calendar of English bishops from Augustine; and then followed ed. of several Chronicles in the Rolls Series. The learning and critical insight displayed in these works commanded the attention and admiration of historical scholars both at home and on the Continent. In 1862 he was appointed librarian of Lambeth Palace, and in 1866 Prof. of Modern History at Oxf. There he _pub._ in 1870 his _Select Charters_, and his chief work, _The Constitutional History of England_ (3 vols., 1874-78), which at once became the standard authority on its subject. It deals with the period preceding that with which the great work of Hallam begins. In 1879 he was appointed a Canon of St. Paul’s, and in 1884 Bishop of Chester, whence he was translated five years later to Oxf. As an active prelate he was necessarily largely withdrawn from his historical researches; but at Chester he ed. two vols. of William of Malmesbury. S. was greater as a historian than as a writer, but he brought to his work sound judgment, insight, accuracy, and impartiality. He was a member of the French and Prussian Academies, and had the Prussian Order “Pour le Merite” conferred upon him. Since his death his prefaces to the Rolls Series have been _pub._ separately.
STUKELEY, WILLIAM (1687-1765).–Antiquary, _ed._ at Camb., and after practising as a physician took orders in 1729 and held benefices at Stamford and in London. He made antiquarian tours through England, and was one of the founders of the Society of Antiquaries, to which he acted as sec. He _pub._ _Itinerarium Curiosum_ (1724) and _Stonehenge_ (1740). He made a special study of Druidism, and was called “the Arch-Druid.”
SUCKLING, SIR JOHN (1609-1642).–Poet, _s._ of a knight who had held office as Sec. of State and Comptroller of the Household to James I., was _b._ at Whitton, Middlesex, _ed._ at Camb., and thereafter went to Gray’s Inn. On the death of his _f._ in 1627, he inherited large estates. After travelling in France and Italy, he is said to have served for a short time under Gustavus Adolphus. On his return he was knighted, and went to Court, where his wealth, generosity, and wit made him a general favourite. When Charles I. was moving against the Scots S. fitted out a gorgeously appointed troop for his service which, however, were said to have fled at first sight of the Scots army at Duns, an exploit which is ridiculed in the ballad of _Sir John Suckling’s Campaign_. He got into trouble in connection with a plot to rescue Strafford from the Tower, and fled to the Continent. He _d._ at Paris, it is now believed by his own hand. He was a noted gambler, and has the distinction of being the inventor of the game of cribbage. He wrote four plays, _Aglaura_ (1637), _Brennoralt_ (1646), _The Goblins_, and _The Sad One_ (unfinished), now forgotten; his fame rests on his songs and ballads, including _The Wedding_, distinguished by a gay and sparkling wit, and a singular grace of expression.
SURREY, HENRY HOWARD, EARL of (1517?-1547).–Poet, _s._ of Thomas H., 3rd Duke of Norfolk, was _ed._ by John Clerke, a learned and travelled scholar, and sec. to his _f._ He became attached to the Court, was cup-bearer to the King (Henry VIII.), ewerer at the Coronation, and Earl Marshall at the trial of Anne Boleyn. In 1542 he was made a Knight of the Garter a few weeks after the execution of his cousin, Queen Catherine Howard. He suffered imprisonment more than once for being implicated in quarrels and brawls, did a good deal of fighting in Scotland and France, and was the last victim of Henry’s insensate jealousy, being beheaded on a frivolous charge of conspiring against the succession of Edward VI. The death of Henry saved Norfolk from the same fate. S. shares with Sir Thomas Wyatt (_q.v._) the honour of being the true successor of Chaucer in English poetry, and he has the distinction of being, in his translation of the _AEneid_, the first to introduce blank verse, and, with Wyatt, the sonnet. The poems of S., though well known in courtly circles, were not _pub._ during his life; 40 of them appeared in _Tottel’s Miscellany_ in 1557. He also paraphrased part of Ecclesiastes and a few of the Psalms. The Geraldine of his sonnets was Elizabeth Fitzgerald, _dau._ of the Earl of Kildare, then a lonely child at Court, her _f._ being imprisoned in the Tower.
SURTEES, ROBERT SMITH (1802-1864).–Sporting novelist, a country gentleman of Durham, who was in business as a solicitor, but not succeeding, started in 1831 the _Sporting Magazine_. Subsequently he took to writing sporting novels, which were illustrated by John Leech. Among them are _Mr. Sponge’s Sporting Tour_, _Ask Mamma_, _Plain or Ringlets_, and _Mr. Facey Romford’s Hounds_.
SWIFT, JONATHAN (1667-1745).–Satirist, was _b._ at Dublin of English parents. Dryden was his cousin, and he also claimed kin with Herrick. He was a posthumous child, and was brought up in circumstances of extreme poverty. He was sent to school at Kilkenny, and afterwards went to Trinity Coll., Dublin, where he gave no evidence of ability, but