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 wereIn Darkest AfricaandThrough 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 biographicalHistory 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. Æschylus. 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 withHolinshed(q.v.). His principal literary achievement was a grotesquely stiff, clumsy, and prosaic translation of the first four books of theÆneidinto 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, whod.when hiss.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 entitledThe Christian Hero(1701). Abandoning this vein, he next produced three comedies,The Funeral, or Grief à la Mode(1702),The Tender Husband(1703), andThe 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 hem.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 theTatler, 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. TheTatlerwas followed by theSpectator, 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 theGuardian. 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 theliteratithere. Nothing, however, could keep him out of financial embarrassments, and other troubles followed: his wifed.; differences, arose with Addison, whod.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 hed.after a partial loss of his faculties from paralysis.
Livesby Austin Dobson (1886) and G.A. Aitken (1889). Ed.,Playsby 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 hisLives 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, anded.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 theNational Observer, thePall Mall Gazette, and theDaily Mail, he utilised the articles which appeared in these and other publications in various books, such asThe Land of the Dollar(America) (1897),With Kitchener to Kartoum, andThe Tragedy of Dreyfus. His most striking work, however, wasMonologues of the Dead(1895). He went as war correspondent to South Africa in 1900, andd.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 wroteEssays in Ecclesiastical Biography(1849) andLectures on the History of France(1852).
STEPHEN, SIR LESLIE (1832-1904).—Biographer and critic,s.of the above, wasb.in London, anded.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 theSaturday Review,Fraser's Magazine, and other periodicals. In 1873 hepub.a collection of his essays asFree Thinking and Plain Speaking, which he followed up withAnAgnostic's Apology(1893). He became ed. in 1871 of theCornhill Magazine, in which appeared the essays afterwardscoll.asHours in a Library(3 series, 1874-79). His chief work wasThe History of English Thought in the Eighteenth Century(1876-81). He also wroteScience of Ethics(1882), and biographies ofDr. Johnson(1878),Pope(1880).Swift(1882), andGeorge Eliot(English Men of Letters Series). In 1882 he became ed. of theDictionary of National Biography, to which he devoted much labour, besides contributing many of the principal articles.The English Utilitariansappeared in 1900. As a biographical and critical writer he holds a very high place. His first wife was adau.of Thackeray. In recognition of his literary eminence he was made a K.C.B.
Life and Lettersby F.W. Maitland (1906).
STEPHENS, THOMAS (1821-1875).—Welsh historian and critic,b.at Pont Nedd Fechan, Glamorganshire,s.of a shoemaker. His works includeThe 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 theTimes, wasb.in Bute, anded.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 toJulius 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 forBlackwood's Magazine, theLondon and Westminster, andQuarterly Reviews, andpub.Essays and Tales,The Election, a humorous poem,Strafford, a tragedy, andRichard Cœur de Lion, a serio-comic poem of which three books out of eight werepub.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, wasb.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 hem.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 hadpub.theSermons of Mr. Yorick(1760), and his remaining work,The Sentimental Journeyappeared 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 onlydau., 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 hed.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. Hed.in debt, but a subscription was raised for his wife anddau., the latter of whomm.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.
Worksed. by Prof. Saintsbury (6 vols., 1894).Seealso Macmillan's Library of English classics.Livesby 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, wasb.at Edin., thes.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 theEdinburgh University Magazineand thePortfolio. 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 separatelypub.appeared in magazines, and in 1879 he brought outTravels with a Donkey in the Cevennes. In that year he went to California andm.Mrs. Osbourne. Returning to Europe in 1880 he enteredupon 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 ofVirginibus Puerisque. Other works followed in rapid succession.Treasure Island(1882),Prince OttoandThe Child's Garden of Verse(1885),Dr. Jekyll and Mr. HydeandKidnapped(1886),Underwoods(poetry),Memories and Portraits(essays), andThe Merry Men, a collection of short stories (1887), and in 1888The 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 hed.and is buried. In 1889The Master of Ballantraeappeared, in 1892Across the PlainsandThe Wrecker, in 1893Island Nights EntertainmentsandCatriona, and in 1894The Ebb Tidein 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 fragmentsSt. IvesandWeir of Hermiston, the latter containing some of his best work. They werepub.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 ofTreasure Islandin 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 asKidnapped,Catriona, andWeir 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. Hydeis a marvellously powerful and subtle psychological story, and some of his short tales also are masterpieces. Of theseThrawn JanetandWill of the Millmay 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).Lifeby Grahame Balfour (1901),Letters, S. Colvin (1899).
STEWART, DUGALD (1753-1828).—Philosopher,s.of Matthew S., Prof. of Mathematics at Edin., wasb.in the Coll. buildings, and at the age of 19 began to assist hisf.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 followedReid(q.v.). His works includePhilosophy 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), andView 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 accessionto 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, includingThe Irenicum(advocating compromise with the Presbyterians),Antiquities of the British Churches, andThe 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, anded.there and at Edin., where he studied medicine, which he practised until the death of hisf.in 1851, after which he devoted himself to philosophy. HisSecret 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 areComplete Text-book to Kant(1881),Philosophy and Theology(1890),What is Thought? or the Problem of Philosophy(1900), andThe Categories(1903). Less abstruse areJerrold, Tennyson, and Macaulay(1868),Burns in Drama(1878), andPhilosophy in the Poets(1885).
STIRLING, WILLIAM ALEXANDER, EARL of (1567-1640).—Poet,s.of A. of Menstrie, andcr.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 fourMonarchicke Tragedies,Darius,Crœsus,The Alexandræan Tragedy, andJulius Cæsar(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. Hed.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 includeAnnals of the Artists of Spain(1848),The Cloister Life of the Emperor Charles V.(1852), andDon John of Austria,pub.posthumously in 1885. They were all distinguished by research and full information, and the last two are standard authorities Hem.as his second wife theHon. 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 whichRudder Grange(1879) is the best known.The Lady and the Tigerwas also highly popular. Others areAdventures 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 includingSongs in Summer(1857),The King's Bell,The Lions Cub, etc.
STORER, THOMAS (1571-1604).—Poet,b.in London, anded.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 includeRoba 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, includingThe Woorkes of Geoffrey Chaucer,Summarie of Englyshe Chronicles(1561), afterwards calledAnnales of England, ed. of the chronicles of Matthew Paris and others, of Holinshed'sChronicle, andA 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, wasb.at Litchfield, Connecticut, in 1811 or 1812. After spending some years as a teacher, shem.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 producedUncle 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 probablyreached 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 includeDred,The Minister's Wooing,Agnes of Sorrento,The Pearl of Orr's Island, andOld Town Folks. Some of these, especially the last, are in a literary sense much superior toUncle 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, wased.by herf., and began her literary career with a poem,Worcester Field, followed byThe Seven Ages of WomanandDemetrius. Abandoning poetry she next produced among othersHistorical Tales of Illustrious British Children(1833),The Pilgrims of Walsingham(1835),Tales and Stories from History(1836). Her chief works, however, areLives of the Queens of England from the Norman Conquest, andLives of the Queens of Scotland, andEnglish Princesses, etc.(8 vols., 1850-59),Lives of the Bachelor Kings of England(1861), andLetters 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, onlys.of Philip S., who belonged to an old Devonshire family, he wasb.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, onRichard 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, anded.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 areMemorials of Archbishop Cranmer(1694),Life of Sir Thomas Smith,Secretary of State toEdward VI. and Elizabeth(1698),Annals of the Reformation(1709-31), andEcclesiastical 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 wereAn Historical Dissertation on the English Constitution(1768),Discourse on the Government and Laws of England(1772),A View of Society in Europe(1778), and aHistory 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, anded.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, andpub.his earlier works. His first publication wasHymnale Secundum Usum Sarum. In 1858 appearedRegistrum 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 hepub.in 1870 hisSelect 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 Mérite" conferred upon him. Since his death his prefaces to the Rolls Series have beenpub.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. Hepub.Itinerarium Curiosum(1724) andStonehenge(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., wasb.at Whitton, Middlesex,ed.at Camb., and thereafter went to Gray's Inn. On the death of hisf.in 1627, heinherited 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 ofSir John Suckling's Campaign. He got into trouble in connection with a plot to rescue Strafford from the Tower, and fled to the Continent. Hed.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, andThe Sad One(unfinished), now forgotten; his fame rests on his songs and ballads, includingThe 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, wased.by John Clerke, a learned and travelled scholar, and sec. to hisf.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 withSir 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 theÆneid, the first to introduce blank verse, and, with Wyatt, the sonnet. The poems of S., though well known in courtly circles, were notpub.during his life; 40 of them appeared inTottel's Miscellanyin 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, herf.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 theSporting Magazine. Subsequently he took to writing sporting novels, which were illustrated by John Leech. Among them areMr. Sponge's Sporting Tour,Ask Mamma,Plain or Ringlets, andMr. Facey Romford's Hounds.
SWIFT, JONATHAN (1667-1745).—Satirist, wasb.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 displayed a turbulent and unruly temper, and only obtained a degree by "special grace." After the Revolution he joined his mother, then resident at Leicester,by whose influence he was admitted to the household ofSir William Temple(q.v.) at Moor Park, Lady T. being her distant kinswoman. Here he acted as sec., and having access to a well-stocked library, made good use of his opportunities, and became a close student. At Moor Park he met many distinguished men, including William III., who offered him a troop of horse; he also met Esther Johnson (Stella), a naturaldau.of Sir William, who was afterwards to enter so largely into his life. Dissatisfied, apparently, that Temple did not do more for his advancement, he left his service in 1694 and returned to Ireland, where he took orders, and obtained the small living of Kilroot, near Belfast. While there he wrote hisTale of a Tub, one of the most consummate pieces of satire in any language, andThe Battle of the Books, with reference to the "Phalaris" controversy (seeBentley), which werepub.together in 1704. In 1698 he threw up his living at the request of Temple, who felt the want of his society and assistance, and returned to Moor Park. On the death of his patron in 1699 he undertook by request the publication of his works, and thereafter returned to Ireland as chaplain to the Lord Deputy, the Earl of Berkeley, from whom he obtained some small preferments, including the vicarage of Laracor, and a prebend in St. Patrick's Cathedral. At this time he made frequent visits to London and became the friend of Addison, Steele, Congreve, and other Whig writers, and wrote various pamphlets, chiefly on ecclesiastical subjects. In 1710, disgusted with the neglect of the Whigs, alike of himself and of the claims of his Church, he abandoned them and attached himself to Harley and Bolingbroke. The next few years were filled with political controversy. He attacked the Whigs in papers in theExaminerin 1710, and in his celebrated pamphlets,The Conduct of the Allies(1712),The Barrier Treaty(1713), andThe Public Spirit of the Whigs(1714). In 1713 he was made Dean of St. Patrick's, the last piece of patronage which he received. The steady dislike of Queen Anne had proved an insurmountable obstacle to his further advancement, and her death proved the ruin of the Tories. On the destruction of his hopes S. retired to Ireland, where he remained for the rest of his life a thoroughly embittered man. In 1713 he had begun hisJournal to Stella, which sheds so strange a light upon his character, and on his return to Ireland his marriage to her is now generally believed to have taken place, though they never lived together. Now also took place also his final rupture with Miss Van Homrigh (Vanessa), who had been in love with him, with whom he had maintained a lengthened correspondence, and to whom he addressed his poem,Cadenus and Vanessa(1726). Though he disliked the Irish and considered residence in Ireland as banishment, he interested himself in Irish affairs, and attained extraordinary popularity by hisDrapier's Letters, directed against the introduction of "Wood's halfpence." In 1726 he visited England and joined with Pope and Arbuthnot in publishingMiscellanies(1727). In the same year, 1726, hepub.Gulliver's Travels, his most widely and permanently popular work. His last visit to England was paid in 1727 and in the following year "Stella," the only being, probably, whom he really loved,d.Though he had a circle of friends in Dublin, and was, owing to his championing the people in their grievances, a popular idol, the shadows were darkening around him. The fears ofinsanity by which he had been all his life haunted, and which may account for and perhaps partly excuse some of the least justifiable portions of his conduct, pressed more and more upon him. He became increasingly morose and savage in his misanthropy, and though he had a rally in which he produced some of his most brilliant, work—theRhapsody on Poetry,Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift, and; theModest Proposal(a horrible but masterly piece of irony)—he gradually sank into almost total loss of his facilities, andd.on October 19, 1745.
The character of S. is one of the gloomiest and least attractive among English writers. Intensely proud, he suffered bitterly in youth and early manhood from the humiliations of poverty and dependence, which preyed upon a mind in which the seeds of insanity were latent until it became dominated by a ferocious misanthropy. As a writer he is our greatest master of grave irony, and while he presents the most humorous ideas, the severity of his own countenance never relaxes. TheTale of a TubandGulliver's Travelsare the greatest satires in the English language, although the concluding part of the latter is a savage and almost insane attack upon the whole human race. His history is a tragedy darkening into catastrophe, and as Thackeray has said, "So great a man he seems that thinking of him is like thinking of an Empire falling."
S. was tall and powerfully made. His eyes, blue and flashing under excitement, were the most remarkable part of his appearance.
SUMMARY.—B.1667,ed.at Trinity Coll., Dublin, entered household of Sir W. Temple at Moor Park 1692, and became his sec., became known to William III., and met E. Johnson (Stella), left T. in 1694 and returned to Ireland, took orders and wroteTale of a TubandBattle of Books(pub.1704), returned to Sir W.T. 1698, and on his death in 1699pub.his works, returned to Ireland and obtained some small preferments, visits London and became one of the circle of Addison, etc., deserts the Whigs and joins the Tories 1710, attacking the former in various papers and pamphlets, Dean of St. Patrick's 1713, death of Anne and ruin of Tories destroyed hopes of further preferment, and he returned to Ireland and began hisJournal to Stella,Drapier's Lettersappeared 1724, visits England, and joins with Pope and Arbuthnot inMiscellanies1726,pub.Gulliver's Travels1727, "Stella"d.1728, gradually lost his faculties andd.1745.
Livesby Craik (1882), Leslie Stephen (1882), Churton Collins (1893), etc.Worksed. by Sir Walter Scott (19 vols., 1814, etc.) Bonn's Standard Library (1897-1908).