Horace Smith (poet)

Horace Smith (1779-1849), circa 1840. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Horace Smith
Born	December 31 1779(1779-Template:MONTHNUMBER-31) London
Died	July 12 1849(1849-Template:MONTHNUMBER-12) (aged 69) Tunbridge Wells
Occupation	Poet, Novelist
Literary movement	Romanticism

Horace Smith (31 December 1779 - 12 July 1849) was an English poet and novelist, best known for the mock-anthology Rejected Addresses, and today for his sonnet-writing competition with Percy Bysshe Shelley that gave rise to Shelley's "Ozymandias."

Life

Overview

The Smith brothers, Horace and James, were sons of a London lawyer who was solicitor to the Board of Ordnance. Horace became a successful stockbroker. Both brothers were distinguished for brilliant wit and humor. Their 1st great hit was the Rejected Addresses (1812), extremely clever parodies on leading contemporary poets. Horace's share of this jeu d'esprit included Scott page and Moore. Horace published 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.

It was of him that Shelley said: "Is it not odd that the only truly generous person I ever knew who had money enough to be generous with should be a stockbroker? He writes poetry and pastoral dramas and yet knows how to make money, and does make it, and is still generous."

Youth and education

Smith was born Horatio Smith in London, the 2nd of 3 sons, and the 5th of 8 children, of a London solicitor, Robert Smith (died 27 September 1832), a fellow of the Royal Society and the Society of Antiquaries.

Like his brother, James Smith (1775-1839), Horace was educated at a school at Chigwell, kept by the Rev. Mr. Burford.

Early career

Horace was placed in a merchant's counting-house. Less attentive to business than to the drama and the amusements of the town, he produced a poem lamenting the decay of public taste as evinced in the neglect of the plays of Richard Cumberland, who, highly flattered, hunted him out of his counting-house and introduced him to literary society.

In 1802, Smith joined with Cumberland, his brother James, Sir James Bland Burges, and others in writing for The Pic Nic, a magazine which was edited by the notorious William Combe, but had only a brief existence. At Cumberland's request, Horace and James wrote several prefaces for plays in Bell's British Theatre, edited by him; and their acquaintance with Thomas Hill led both, but especially James, to contribute for 4 years to his Monthly Mirror. They acquired a character as wits, and as gay, though not dissipated, young men about town, but were little known to the public. They suddenly found themselves raised to the pinnacle of contemporary reputation by the utterly unforeseen success of their Rejected Addresses (1812).

Early retirement

After his apprenticeship in the counting-house was over, Horace Smith went on the stock exchange. He was probably a good man of business, for he throve so fast as to be able to retire in 1820, and was blamed for throwing away the prospect of a fortune. But when the panic of 1825 came, he congratulated himself on his good sense.

His good sense and conciliatory disposition are admirably shown in his letter to Sir Timothy Shelley on the temporary stoppage of Shelley's income. He was Shelley's guest at Marlow in 1817, and he was probably the first to communicate Keats's death to the poet in March 1821. Shelley wrote of him in his epistle to Maria Gisborne:

    Wit and sense,
    Virtue and human knowledge, all that might
    Make this dull world a business of delight,
    Are all combined in Horace Smith.

To Leigh Hunt he was equally friendly and equally serviceable, joining with Shelley in the vain effort to rescue him from his embarrassments.

On his retirement from business, Smith set out to join Shelley in Italy, but on hearing of his death stopped short at Paris and lived for 3 years at Versailles; on his return he settled at Brighton. He now added Cobden to the list of his friends, and became a warm advocate of free trade. He aided Campbell in the New Monthly and John Scott in the London Magazine. Some of his pieces were collected as Gaieties and Gravities (London, 1825, 3 vols. 8vo). But about the same year he gave up periodical literature to resume his early pursuit of novel-writing.

All contemporary testimony respecting Smith is unanimous as regards the beauty of his character, which was associated not only with wit, but with strong commonsense and justness of perception. His is a remarkable instance of a reputation rescued from undue neglect by the perhaps excessive applause bestowed upon a single lucky hit. Thackeray wrote warmly of Smith's truth and loyalty as a friend, and, after his death, he frequently visited his daughters at Brighton; after the youngest of them he named his Laura in ‘Pendennis.’

Smith died at Tunbridge Wells, on 12 July 1849. He left three daughters, of whom the youngest, Laura (d. 1864) married John Round of West Bergholt, Essex.

Writing

Rejected Addresses

Main article: Rejected Addresses

The Rejected Addresses (1812) were parodies of the most popular poets of the day in the guise of imaginary addresses from their pens, purported to have been prepared in competition for a prize that had been offered by the managers on occasion of the reopening of Drury Lane Theatre after its destruction by fire (10 October 1812). Horace Smith himself had been a serious competitor, and the commission had been entrusted to a poet parodied, Byron.

The idea had been suggested to the Smiths by the secretary to the theatre, Mr. Ward, Sheridan's brother-in-law, who, having seen the addresses submitted bona fide, had been struck by their prevailing silliness, no less than 69 competitors having invoked the aid of the Phœnix.

The brothers had great difficulty in finding a publisher, until at last John Miller, of Bow Street, agreed to print at his own expense, and give them half the profits, "if any." The volume appeared on the day of the opening of the theatre, with the title Rejected Addresses; or, The new theatrum poetarum (18th edition 1833, with new preface by Horace Smith). Success was instantaneous, and in truth there has been nothing better of the kind in the language (excepting only Hogg's inimitable parody of Wordsworth, ‘The Flying Tailor").’

In the Rejected Addresses, Horace Smith's best are those of Byron and Scott, and the delectable nonsense of the "Loyal Effusion" by William Thomas Fitzgerald . Horace inserted his genuine rejected poem under the title of "An Address without a Phœnix."

Neither brother did anything half so good again, though each has bequeathed a considerable amount of comic verse, never destitute of merit, but always courting comparison with the similar productions of Thomas Hood, and hopelessly distanced by them. Their only subsequent joint production, entitled Horace in London, by the authors of Rejected Addresses, appeared in 1813.

Smith's "Oymandias"

In Egypt's sandy silence, all alone,
Stands a gigantic Leg, which far off throws
The only shadow that the Desert knows:
"I am great OZYMANDIAS," saith the stone,
"The King of Kings; this mighty City shows
"The wonders of my hand." The City's gone,
Nought but the Leg remaining to disclose
The site of this forgotten Babylon.
We wonder, and some Hunter may express
Wonder like ours, when thro' the wilderness
Where London stood, holding the Wolf in chace,
He meets some fragments huge, and stops to guess
What powerful but unrecorded race
Once dwelt in that annihilated place.

—Horace Smith.

Shelley apparently wrote his 1818 poem "Oymandias" in competition with Horace Smith, who published his own sonnet a month after Shelley's in the same magazine, The Examiner.

It was originally published under the same title as Shelley's verse; but in later collections Smith retitled it "On A Stupendous Leg of Granite, Discovered Standing by Itself in the Deserts of Egypt, with the Inscription Inserted Below".

It takes the same subject, tells the same story, and makes a similar moral point, but one related more directly to modernity, ending by imagining a hunter of the future looking in wonder on the ruins of an annihilated London.

Other poetry

Before retiring Horace Smith had gained the friendship of poets and performed numberless generous actions. His endeavours, however, to follow in the footsteps of these poets were not always fortunate. Nevertheless, Amarynthus the Nympholept, a pastoral drama in imitation of Fletcher (1821), is full of pleasant fancy. Not much can be said in favour of his other serious poems (first collected as Poetical Works, London, 1846, 2 vols. 8vo), except the fine lines on occasion of the funeral of Campbell in Westminster Abbey, when, late in life, the deep feeling aroused by the recollection of a long friendship supplies the deficiencies of poetic art.

There is, however, a class of poems in which Smith really excels, those halfway between the serious and the humorous. One of these, "An Address to a Mummy," has deservedly gained great popularity, and is an admirable example of the mutual interpenetration of wit and feeling.

Novels

Horace Smith published 2 novels, The Runaway in 1800, and Trevanion; or, Matrimonial Ventures, in 1802. A third, Horatio; or, Memoirs of the Davenport Family, followed in 1807. About 1825 he resumed novel-writing. In 1826 he produced Brambletye House; or, Cavaliers and roundheads, a romance in Scott's style, connected with a ruined mansion of the name still existing in Ashdown Forest, Sussex. It ranks among the best imitations of Scott, and has been frequently republished.

The Tor Hill and Reuben Apsley, two good historical novels, followed in 1826 and 1827, and in 1828 he varied his style by imitating Lockhart and Croly in Zillah: A tale of the Holy City (London, 12mo). Both this work and Tor Hill were translated into French by Defauconpret, the translator of Scott and of Mrs. Radcliffe. A severe attack on Zillah in the Quarterly gained him the friendship of Southey, after he had done penance for "some impertinences regarding Wordsworth." His later novels, rarely historical in subject, obtained little success; they include The New Forest (1829), Walter Colyton (1830), Gale Middleton (1833), The Involuntary Prophet (1835), Jane Lomax (1838), The Moneyed Man (1841), Adam Brown (1843), and Love and Mesmerism (1845).

Other writing

A posthumous fragment from his pen, professedly but not really autobiographic, appeared in vols. lxxxvi. and lxxxvii. of the New Monthly Magazine. His other writings include First Impressions, an unsuccessful comedy (1813); Festivals, Games, and Amusements, Ancient and Modern (1831), a useful compilation; and The Tin Trumpet, (1836), a medley of remarks, ethical, political, and philosophical. It was published under the name of Jefferson Saunders, but Smith's name appeared on it in 1869 when it was issued as No. 8 in Bradbury and Evans's ‘Handy Vol. Series.’

Keats, in a letter written in February 1818, mentions having seen in manuscript a satire by Smith entitled Nehemiah Muggs: An exposure of the Methodists, but it does not appear to have been published.

Recognition

A portrait of Horatio and James Smith in early life by Harlow is in the possession of Mr. John Murray. A portrait of Horace by Masquerier and a miniature were the property of his eldest daughter.

Publications

Poetry

• Rejected Addresses; or, The new theatrum poetarum (with James Smith). London: John Murray, 1812; London: John Miller / Edinburgh: John Ballantyne, 1813.
• Horace in London: Consisting of imitations of the first two books of the Odes of Horace (with James Smith). London: John Miller / Edinburgh: John Ballantyne, 1813; Boston: Cummings & Hilliard / New York: Eastburn, Kirk, 1813.
• Amarynthus, the Nympholept: A pastoral drama, in three acts; with other poems. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, & Brown, 1821; New York: Garland, 1977.
• Poetical Works. (2 volumes), London: Henry Colburn, 1846. Volume II
• Poetical Works of Horace and James Smith (edited by Epes Sargent). New York: Mason Brothers, 1857.
• Poems. London & New York: Macmillan, 1889.
• Rejected Addresses / Horace in London. New York: Garland, 1977.

Play

• First Impressions; or, Trade in the West: A comedy, in five acts. London: T. Underwood, 1813.

Novels

• The Runaway; or, The seat of benevolence. (4 volumes), London: T. Davison, for Crosby & Letterman, 1800.
• Trevanion; or, Matrimonial errors. (4 volumes), London: Earle & Hernet, 1801.
• Horatio; or, Memoirs of the Davenport family. 1807.
• The Tor Hill. (3 volumes), London: Henry Colburn, 1826; New York: Wallis, 1835. Volume I
• Brambletye House; or, Cavaliers and roundheads: A novel. (3 volumes), London: Henry Colburn, 1826; New York: Wallis & Newell, 1835. Volume II
• Reuben Apsley. (3 volumes), London: Henry Colburn, 1827. Volume II
• Zillah: A tale of the Holy City. (4 volumes), London: Henry Colburn, 1828.
• The New Forest: A novel. (3 volumes), London: Henry Colburn, 1829. Volume I, Volume II, Volume III
• Walter Colyton: A tale of 1688. (3 volumes), London: Henry Colburn & Richard Bentley, 1830.
• Gale Middleton: A story of the present day. (3 volumes), London: Henry Colburn, 1833; Philadelphia: Carey, Lea, & Blanchard, 1834. Volume II
• The Involuntary Prophet: A tale of the early ages. London: Richard Bengley, 1835.
• Jane Lomax; or, A mother's crime. (3 volumes), London: Henry Colburn, 1838.
• Oliver Cromwell: An historical romance. (3 volumes), London: Henry Colburn, 1840.
• The Moneyed Man; or, The lesson of a life. (3 volumes), London: 1841; Philadelphia: Lea & Blanchard, 1841..
• Massaniello: A historical romance. (3 volumes), London: Henry Colburn, 1842.
• Adam Brown, the Merchant. (3 volumes), London: Henry Colburn, 1843. Volume I, Volume II, Volume III
• Arthur Arundel: A tale of the English revolution. (3 volumes), London: Henry Colburn, 1844; New York: Harper, 1844.
• Love and Mesmerism. (3 volumes), London: Henry Colburn, 1845; New York: Harper, 1846..

Short fiction

• Tales of the Early Ages. (3 volumes), London: Henry Colburn & Richard Bentley, 1832.
• The Tin Trumpet; or, Heads and tales for the wise and waggish. (2 volumes), London: Whittaker, 1836; Philadelphia: E.L. Carey & A. Hart, 1836.

Non-fiction

• Festivals, Games and Amusements: Ancient and modern. London: Richard Bentley, 1831; New York: Harper, 1831.

Collected editions

• Gaieties and Gravities: A series of essays, comic tales, and fugitive vagaries. (3 volimes), London: Henry Colburn, 1825. Volume I, Volume II, Volume III
• The Midsummer Medley: A series of comic tales, sketches, and fugitive vagaries: in prose and verse. (3 volumes), London: Henry Colburn & Richard Bentley, 1830. Volume I, Volume II

Edited

• James Smith, Memoirs, Letters, and Comic Miscellanies. (2 volumes), London: Henry Colburn, 1840; Philadelphia: Carey & Hart, 1841.

Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.

Poems by Horace Smith

Ozymandias - Horace Smith - Poem - animation

1. Loyal Effusion

See also

• List of British poets

References

•  Garnett, Richard (1898) "Smith, Horatio" in Lee, Sidney Dictionary of National Biography 53 London: Smith, Elder, pp. 53-54  . Wikisource, Web, Nov. 27, 2016.

External links

Poems

• "Cui Bono?", by Lord B.
• "Loyal Effusion," by W.T.F.
• "Horace in London: Book III, Ode 16"
• "Ode XV: The Parthenon: On the Dilapidation of the Temple of Minerva at Athens"
• Horace Smith at PoemHunter (20 poems)
• Horace Smith at Poetry Nook (140 poems)

Books

• Works by Horace Smith at Project Gutenberg
• Horace Smith at Amazon.com

About

• Horace Smith in the Encyclopædia Britannica
• Horace Smith (1779-1849) at English Poets, 1579-1830

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, the Dictionary of National Biography (edited by Leslie Stephen & Sidney Lee). London: Smith, Elder, 1885-1900. Original article is at: Smith, Horatio