Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1869-06-04

There i, no holer spot Of ground
Than where defeated yaior lies.
By mourning beauty crowned
From the Printers Circular
sydney Smith.
1t may he Truly saiI oi oyuhey 9nl',N 'Da'
he was never less humorous than Nlel ne
wrote ot humor. YET We are i.''-''
TO his lecture upon this theme i1r me most
vivid and accurate portrait Oh himself. me
las described therein man possessed '- i,iis
quality 10 Its highest ANA purest degree he
has shown what blessing that Sll may ne
% ITS owner ana To others ana TINS ueS'ill-
tion be completely realized Do his own person
al character To quote hls ,N'c' "oras' me
has as much wit as ii be had no sense, as
much sense as if he bad DO W.T. ..s conduct
Is as ludielou- as li DE were tne oHl-t-' % hu-
man beings. and his Imagination rs hr-.lani
as if be were iuetriew'Ir ruined But
when wit i- com sincd with sense and n-1ru-
alton. when 1t is s1ttcned by heuetuience.
and restrained by principle when it is in
the bands Of man who can use 1t and des-
rise !: : who can be witty and something
more than witty who loves honor, Justice,
dccency. good nature. morality. and religion
ten Thousand times more than wit. Wit is
then a delightful part Of our nature. Man
,5uld direct his WAYS hy pIaiu reason. AM
support life hy tastcie-- food but God las
-iycn Us wit. and flavor. and hr.-itlC--. and
laughter. and perfumes. To cnliven the days
Of mans pilgrimage, and charm his panied
steps over the burning mari This. then,
was his philosophy, and this man was him
self
The mere events Of the life Of Sydney
Smith could he read without "a suspicion that
the subject belonged 10 that u1lucky class,
the wits: for he was never in debt. nor in
dread of the duus; be was Industrious. eco
nomical. selEsacrifcin-. and domestic The
virtues that he pacticed We're those Of the
dull. the podding. and the practical and
he strove to fulfill his obligations with as
uainstakinga sincerity of purpose as if, ike
the Scot in his own story. it had taken sur
gical operation to get a Joke into his brain.
slight sketch of bis lineage and family
viii help much t1 the understanding oi a
character 30 peculiar. ami t." very ie" prom
inent events Of bis remarkably une'ent.nl
life show how independent man may make
himself Of bis surroundings, and how mnd
can defy and master circumstances.
Robert Smith, his father was a man OF
very peculiar character, and endowed with
considerable talent and Wit lie lived am
odd sort Of rowing life, showing every
body business and everybody history, and
succeeded in dlssipatlnG fortune 10y buying,
''imUrovin- and then selling nealiFa score
of different places. and this most electual
method Of spending his money le.t bis sons %
struggle with poverty. He married the
daughter Of ". Olier, an emigrant from
Languedoc, a graceful spirited, and beautiful
woman, who died while quite young. leaving
four sons. Robert, sydney, Cecil. Courtney.
and one daughter. Her sons seem 10 have
caught from her a high tone and She was
Justly proud OF tie intelligence which led
them into inccssaut argument and discussion
Of books as soon as they learned 20 read.
while their father, for the same reason. de-
clared them t. be ian int1lcrah.e and over
bearing set Of boys.
This hrilian band Of brothers did not DIFF
fer much in age and TO prevent too much ri
yalrv, Robert and Cecil, the first and third,
were sent 10 Eaton, where Robert, better
known as Blbus. with John smith. Frere
and Canning. wrote the ..Mcrocosm;'' while
sydney and Courtney went to Winchester,
where. through whlic-school discipline Of
neglect misery. and starvation. the two
brorbers rinened into brilliant scholars.
SIDNEY was esnecialI, DISTINGUISHED far his
latin verses but frinj time for some mis-
.biorors fr,lics and became ..Certain. -
,rb;cb erti,led hin, m n scholarship IN New
f,'lI.-, O,-r,~J ,rbi+bor J,o re,,,ired af+er
s,o1{i,, siv months in Normandy in study
H. FrsTcb lsn.,ra,a lie so,n ocouirod' =
flr.v.l-,, ,t Oy},r5 ,-bi.i l.eir.- worth one
trr8-aI ycsr bi. c+ber i..msIi-
a-e. Will l-.,,, h.. ,,.r,,s ard ..ye- after
.-.lya him o. iIlir.,
Il mr.- have boon n severe trial f,r ,
y.ur.. man -, o,ninertlv Gt-e4 FIR brilliant
.5sierr m withstand The tefontatiops olIere5
hv tbe slc;,1 l;rs If the Co'Ie,a and .opf,,e
his expenditure within 50 bare an income:
but he never had to "sport the oak against
dun. and outof this slender annuity we find
him paying debt of thirty pounds for his
brother Courtney. And DC j. pleasant 70 find
that, after half a century of hb5rious power
ty, cheeriully borne. the declining years Of
sydney smith were frightened by the wealth
sent back to him from India by this younger
brother
ft Robert for the bar. rr5yr5 81 beayv n drain
upon the fortune already So diminished that
although Sydney would also have rreierrcd
the law ar a profession, his father compelled
him to enter the Church.
lie seems % have acoeI ted the unwclc1,ne
lot without murmur, and to have earnestly
prepared himself for its duties.
lie was installed IN curacy m Salisbury
Plain IN I'Y4, on starving salary. Mr..
Beach, wealthy proprietor IN the neighbor-
hood, often invited hlm To dinner ana soon
discovering that the young curate possessed
wisdom as well as wit urged him to accept
the tutorshiP Of bis son, and relr5nquisIh hls
lor two years, sydney smith nnaeT'ook 5i the e
new T3. ayoea'lon' and set ont with his pupil ior
" el%ar'
Germany was, however, 50 disturbed by
war that, In stress Of politics, they put in
to Edinburgh in the year l797, the tutor be-
ing then but twenty-six years Of age; and
here he and bis pupil remained for five yeais.
After a residence of two years in this city,
sydney Smith married Miss Pvbns an FDc-
lisl lady, to whom he had long been engaged, .