Transcribed from the 1893 Cassell & Company edition byDavid Price,
CASSELL’S NATIONAL LIBRARY
Peter Plymley’s Letters
and
SELECTED ESSAYS
BY
SYDNEY SMITH
CASSELL & COMPANY Limited
LONDON PARIS &MELBOURNE
1893
INTRODUCTION.
Sydney Smith, of the same age asWalter Scott, was born at Woodford, in Essex, in the year 1771,and he died of heart disease, aged seventy-four, on the 22nd ofFebruary, 1845. His father was a clever man of wanderinghabits who, when he settled in England, reduced his means bybuying, altering, spoiling, and then selling about nineteendifferent places in England. His mother was of a Frenchfamily from Languedoc, that had been driven to England by theRevocation of the Edict of Nantes. Sydney Smith’sgrandfather, upon the mother’s side, could speak noEnglish, and he himself ascribed some of his gaiety to the Frenchblood in his veins.
He was one of four sons. His eldest brotherRobert—known as Bobus—was sent to Eton, where hejoined Canning, Frere, and John Smith, in writing the Etonmagazine, the Microcosm; and at Cambridge Bobus afterwardswas known as a fine Latin scholar. Sydney Smith went firstto a school at Southampton, and then to Winchester, where hebecame captain of the school. Then he was sent for sixmonths to Normandy for a last polish to his French before he wenton to New College, Oxford. When he had obtained hisfellowship there, his father left him to his own resources. His eldest brother had been trained for the bar, his two youngerbrothers were sent out to India, and Sydney, against his ownwish, yielded to the strong desire of his father that he shouldtake orders as a clergyman. Accordingly, in 1794, he becamecurate of the small parish of Netherhaven, in Wiltshire. Meat came to Netherhaven only once a week in a butcher’scart from Salisbury, and the curate often dined upon potatoesflavoured with ketchup.
The only educated neighbour was Mr. Hicks Beach, the squire,who at first formally invited the curate to dinner on Sundays,and soon found his wit, sense, and high culture so delightful,that the acquaintance ripened into friendship. After twoyears in the curacy, Sydney Smith gave it up and went abroad withthe squire’s son. “When first I went into theChurch,” he wrote afterwards, “I had a curacy in themiddle of Salisbury Plain; the parish was Netherhaven, nearAmesbury. The squire of the parish, Mr. Beach, took a fancyto me, and after I had served it two years, he engaged me astutor to his eldest son, and it was arranged that I and his sonshould proceed to the University of Weimar in Saxony. Weset out, but before reaching our destination Germany wasdisturbed by war, and, in stress of politics, we put intoEdinburgh, where I remained five years.”
Young Michael Beach, who had little taste for study, livedwith Sydney Smith as his tutor, and found him a wise guide andpleasant friend. When Michael went to the University, hisbrother William was placed under the same good care. SydneySmith, about the same time, went to London to be married. His wife’s rich broth