Chapter XX: Part 20

ROBERTSON, WILLIAM (1721-1793).--Historian, _s._ of the parish minister of Borthwick, Midlothian, where he was _b._, received his earlier _ed._ at Dalkeith, which then had a school of some repute; but his _f._ being translated to Edin., he attended school, and afterwards the Univ. there, studying for the Church. In 1743 he became minister of Gladsmuir, near Prestonpans. In the '45 he showed his loyalty by offering himself to Sir J. Cope as a volunteer, a service which was, however, declined. He soon began to take a prominent part in the debates of the General Assembly, of which he rose to be the undisputed leader. In 1758 he became one of the city ministers of Edin., and in the following year _pub._ his _History of Scotland_, which had an extraordinary success, and at once raised him to a foremost place among British historians. Preferment immediately followed: he was made Chaplain of Stirling Castle 1759, King's Chaplain for Scotland 1760, Principal of the Univ. of Edin. 1761, and Historiographer for Scotland 1763. In 1769 appeared the _History of the Reign of the Emperor Charles V._, in 1777 _The History of America_, and in 1791 _Historical Disquisition on Ancient India_. In 1780 R. retired from the management of Church affairs, in which he had shown conspicuous ability, and gave himself to study, and the society of his friends, among whom were most of his distinguished contemporaries. As a writer he possessed a finished style, clear, measured, and stately, which carried his well-arranged narrative as on a full and steady stream; he was also cool and sagacious but, like Hume, he was apt to take his facts at second hand, and the vast additional material which has been in course of accumulation since his day has rendered the value of his work more and more literary, and less and less historical.

_Lives_ by Dugald Stewart (1801), Bishop Gleig (1812), and Lord Brougham in _Men of Letters_.

ROBINSON, HENRY CRABB (1775-1867).--Diarist, _b._ at Bury St. Edmunds, was articled to an attorney in Colchester. Between 1800 and 1805 he studied at various places in Germany, and became acquainted with nearly all the great men of letters there, including Goethe, Schiller, Herder, Wieland, etc. Thereafter he became war correspondent to the _Times_ in the Peninsula. On his return to London he studied for the Bar, to which he was called in 1813, and became leader of the Eastern Circuit. Fifteen years later he retired, and by virtue of his great conversational powers and other qualities, became a leader in society, going everywhere and knowing everybody worth knowing. He _d._ unmarried, aged 91, and his _Diary, Reminiscences and Correspondence_, which stands in the forefront of its class, was _pub._ in 1869.

ROCHESTER, JOHN WILMOT (2ND EARL OF) (1647-1680).--Poet, _s._ of the 1st Earl, _b._ at Ditchley in Oxfordshire, and _ed._ at Oxf., saw some naval service when he showed conspicuous bravery. He became one of the most dissolute of the courtiers of Charles II., and wore himself out at 33 by his wild life. He was handsome, and witty, and possessed a singular charm of manner. He wrote a number of light, graceful poems, many of them extremely gross. Bishop Burnet, who attended him on his deathbed, believed him to have been sincerely repentant. In addition to his short pieces he wrote a _Satyr against Mankind_, and a tragedy, _Valentinian_, adapted from Beaumont and Fletcher.

ROGERS, HENRY (1806-1877).--Critic and theologian, was a minister of the Congregationalist Church, and ultimately Prof. of English Literature in Univ. Coll., London. He was a contributor to the _Edinburgh Review_, and is best known by his _Eclipse of Faith_ (1852), a reply to F.W. Newman's _Phases of Faith_. This work, which displays remarkable acuteness and logical power, had great popularity.

ROGERS, SAMUEL (1763-1855).--Poet, _s._ of a banker in London, received a careful private education, and entered the bank, of which, on his father's death, he became the principal partner. From his early youth he showed a marked taste for literature and the fine arts, which his wealth enabled him to gratify; and in his later years he was a well-known leader in society and a munificent patron of artists and men of letters, his breakfasts, at which he delighted to assemble celebrities in all departments, being famous. He was the author of the following poems: _The Pleasures of Memory_ (1792), _Columbus_ (1810), _Jacqueline_ (1814), _Human Life_ (1819), and _Italy_ (1822). R. was emphatically the poet of taste, and his writings, while full of allusion and finished description, rarely show passion or intensity of feeling; but are rather the reflections and memory-pictures of a man of high culture and refinement expressed in polished verse. He had considerable powers of conversation and sarcasm. He was offered, but declined, the laureateship.

ROLLE, RICHARD (1290?-1349).--Hermit and poet, _b._ at Thornton, Yorkshire, was at Oxf. Impressed by the uncertainty and the snares of life he decided to become a hermit, a resolution which he carried out with somewhat romantic circumstances. He wrote various religious treatises in Latin and English, turned the Psalms into English verse, and composed a poem--_The Pricke of Conscience_--in 7 books, in which is shown the attitude of protest which was rising against certain Papal pretensions and doctrines.

ROLLOCK, ROBERT (1555?-1599).--Theologian and scholar, _b._ in Stirlingshire, was first a Prof. in St. Andrews, and then the first Principal of the Univ. of Edin. He also held office as Prof. of Theology, and was one of the ministers of the High Church. He was one of the earliest of Protestant commentators. He wrote chiefly in Latin, but some of his sermons and commentaries are in vernacular Scotch.

ROPER, WILLIAM (1496-1578).--Biographer, _s._ of a Kentish gentleman, _m._ Margaret, _dau._ of Sir Thomas More. He has a place in literature for his excellent and appreciative biography of his father-in-law. He was a member of various Parliaments between 1529 and 1558. Although he remained a Roman Catholic, he was permitted to retain his office of prothonotary of the Court of King's Bench after the accession of Elizabeth.

ROSCOE, WILLIAM (1753-1831).--Historian, _s._ of a market-gardener near Liverpool, for a time assisted his _f._, devoting all his spare time to mental improvement. Subsequently he entered the office of an attorney, and in due time went into business on his own account, continuing, however, his literary studies. In 1799 he joined a local bank as partner and manager, which proved an unfortunate step, as the bank was obliged, in 1816, to suspend payment. In 1795 he rose into fame at a bound by his _Life of Lorenzo de' Medici_. It was followed in 1805 by the _Life and Pontificate of Leo the Tenth_, which, though also a work of great ability, had not the same success--his treatment of the Reformation offending Protestants and Roman Catholics alike. Both works were translated into various languages. He also wrote some poems, including _The Butterfly's Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast_, and several pamphlets on political questions, including the slave-trade, of which he was a determined opponent. He also took a leading part in the public life of Liverpool, which he represented in Parliament for a few years. He was an accomplished botanist.

ROSCOMMON, WENTWORTH DILLON, 4TH EARL of (1633?-1685).--Poet, nephew of the famous Earl of Strafford, was _b._ in Ireland. He studied and travelled on the Continent, and enjoyed a considerable literary reputation in his own day on the strength of a poetical _Essay on Translated Verse_, and translations from Horace's _Art of Poetry_.

ROSE, WILLIAM STEWART (1775-1843).--Poet and translator, _s._ of George R., who held various Government offices, including that of Treasurer of the Navy. After being _ed._ at Eton and Camb., he was appointed Reading Clerk to the House of Lords. He translated the romance of _Amadis de Gaul_ (1803), _Partenopex de Blois_ (1807), etc., and from 1823-31 was occupied with the principal work of his life, his translations from the Italian, including the _Orlando Furioso_ of Ariosto, in which he was encouraged by Sir W. Scott, whose friend he was. He also produced a vol. of poems, _The Crusade of St. Louis_ (1810).

ROSSETTI, CHRISTINA GEORGINA (1830-1894).--Poetess, sister of Dante Gabriel R. (_q.v._), was _b._ in London, where she lived all her life. She began to write poetry in early girlhood, some of her earliest verse appearing in 1850 in the _Germ_, the magazine of the pre-Raphaelites, of which her brother was one of the founders. Her subsequent publications were _Goblin Market and other Poems_ (1862), _The Prince's Progress_ (1866), _A Pageant and other Poems_ (1881), and _Verses_ (1893). _New Poems_ (1896) appeared after her death. _Sing-Song_ was a book of verses for children. Her life was a very retired one, passed largely in attending on her mother, who lived until 1886, and in religious duties. She twice rejected proposals of marriage. Her poetry is characterised by imaginative power, exquisite expression, and simplicity and depth of thought. She rarely imitated any forerunner, and drew her inspiration from her own experiences of thought and feeling. Many of her poems are definitely religious in form; more are deeply imbued with religious feeling and motive. In addition to her poems she wrote _Commonplace and other Stories_, and _The Face of the Deep_, a striking and suggestive commentary on the Apocalypse.

ROSSETTI, DANTE GABRIEL (1828-1882).--Poet and painter, was _b._ in London. His _f._ was Gabriele Rossetti, an Italian scholar, who came to England in 1824, and was Prof. of Italian in King's Coll., London. His mother was Frances Polidori, English on her mother's side, so that the poet was three-fourths Italian, and one-fourth English. He was _ed._ at King's Coll. School, and began the systematic study of painting in 1842, and in 1848, with Holman Hunt, Millais, and others, founded the pre-Raphaelite school of painting. In 1849 he exhibited the "Girlhood of Mary Virgin," and among his other pictures are "Beata Beatrix," "Monna Vanna," and "Dante's Dream." Simultaneously with art he worked hard at poetry, and by 1847 he had written _The Blessed Damozel_ and _Hand and Soul_ (both of which appeared in the _Germ_, the magazine of the pre-Raphaelites), _Retro me Sathanas_, _The Portrait_, and _The Choice_, and in 1861 he brought out a vol. of translations from the early Italian poets under the title of _Dante and his Circle_. The death of his wife in 1862, after a married life of less than two years, told heavily upon him, as did various attacks upon his poetry, including that of Robert Buchanan (_q.v._)--_The Fleshly School of Poetry_--to which he replied with _The Stealthy School of Criticism_. His _Poems_ which, in the vehemence of his grief, he had buried in the coffin of his wife, and which were afterwards exhumed, appeared in 1870; and his last literary effort, _Ballads and Sonnets_, containing the sonnets forming _The House of Life_, in 1881. In his later years he suffered acutely from neuralgia, which led to the habit of taking chloral. Rossetti was fastidious in composition; his poems are as remarkable for condensation, finish, and exact expression of the poet's thought as for their sumptuous colouring and rich concrete imagery. In later years he was subject to depression, and became somewhat embittered, and much of a recluse.

_Life_ by A.C. Benson (English Men of Letters). _Family Letters and Memoir_ by W.M. Rossetti. Poetical Works with preface by the same, etc.

ROUS, FRANCIS (1579-1659).--Versifier of the Psalms, a Cornishman, and a prominent Puritan, took a leading part in Parliament, was Provost of Eton, and wrote several theological and devotional works. His memory has, however, been chiefly kept green by his translation of the Psalms into verse, which with some modifications was adopted by the Church and Parliament of Scotland for use in public worship, a position which it held almost exclusively until the middle of the 19th century. It is still in universal use in the Presbyterian churches of that country, though now accompanied by hymns. Though rough, and sometimes, through the endeavour to maintain literalness, grotesque, it is strong and simple, and not seldom rises to a certain severe beauty; and association has endeared it to many generations of Scottish Christians.

ROW, JOHN (1568-1646).--Scottish ecclesiastical historian, _b._ at Perth, _s._ of John R., one of the Scottish Reformers, was minister of Carnock in Fife, and a leading opponent of Episcopacy. His _Historie of the Kirk of Scotland_, 1558-1637, left by him in manuscript, was printed in 1842 for the Wodrow Society. It is an original authority for the period.

ROWE, NICHOLAS (1674-1718).--Dramatist and poet, _b._ of a good family at Little Barford, Bedfordshire, was bred to the law, but inheriting an income of £300 a year, he devoted himself to literature, and produced several dramas, including _The Ambitious Stepmother_, _The Fair Penitent_, and _Jane Shore_. The last, which is his best, contains some scenes of true pathos, and holds its place. He also wrote some poems, and translated Lucan. R., who was a man of very engaging manners, was the friend of Pope, Swift, and Addison, and received many lucrative appointments, including that of Under-Sec. of State. He has the distinction of being the first ed. and biographer of Shakespeare (1709). He was appointed Poet Laureate in 1715, and was buried in Westminster Abbey, with an epitaph by Pope.

ROWLEY, WILLIAM (1585?-1642?).--Dramatist, was an actor in the Queen's Company 1610. He collaborated with Middleton in _A Fair Quarrel_ and _The Changeling_, and in others with Dekker, Webster, etc., and wrote unassisted _A New Wonder_, _A Match at Midnight_, _A Shoemaker, a Gentleman_, and several others; also a picture of life in London called _A Search for Money_. R. was vigorous and humorous, but his verse lacked sweetness and smoothness.

RUDDIMAN, THOMAS (1674-1757).--Grammarian, _b._ in Banffshire, and _ed._ at King's Coll., Aberdeen, obtained a position in the Advocates' Library in Edin., of which in 1730 he became Librarian. In 1714 he _pub._ his _Rudiments of the Latin Tongue_, which was for long the recognised Latin grammar in the schools of Scotland. He was made printer to the Univ. in 1728. R., who was one of the greatest of Scottish Latinists, produced an ed. of the works of George Buchanan, and an ed. of _Livy_ said to be "immaculate." He also reprinted, with notes, Gavin Douglas's version of the _Æneid_.

RUSKIN, JOHN (1819-1900).--Writer on art, economics, and sociology, was _b._ in London, the _s._ of a wealthy wine merchant, a Scotsman. Brought up under intellectually and morally bracing Puritan influences, his education was mainly private until he went to Oxf. in 1836; he remained until 1840, when a serious illness interrupted his studies, and led to a six months' visit to Italy. On his return in 1842 he took his degree. In 1840 he had made the acquaintance of Turner, and this, together with a visit to Venice, constituted a turning point in his life. In 1843 appeared the first vol. of _Modern Painters_, the object of which was to insist upon the superiority in landscape of the moderns, and especially of Turner, to all the ancient masters. The earnestness and originality of the author and the splendour of the style at once called attention to the work which, however, awakened a chorus of protest from the adherents of the ancients. A second vol. appeared in 1846, the third and fourth in 1856, and the fifth in 1860. Meanwhile he had _pub._ _The Seven Lamps of Architecture_ (1849), _The Stones of Venice_ (1851-53), perhaps his greatest work, _Lectures on Architecture and Painting_ (1854), _Elements of Drawing_ (1856), and _Elements of Perspective_ (1859). During the 17 years between the publication of the first and the last vols. of _Modern Painters_ his views alike on religion and art had become profoundly modified, and the necessity of a radical change in the moral and intellectual attitude of the age towards religion, art, and economics in their bearing upon life and social conditions had become his ruling idea. He now assumed the _rôle_ of the prophet as Carlyle, by whose teaching he was profoundly influenced, had done, and the rest of his life was spent in the endeavour to turn the mind of the nation in the direction he desired. _The Political Economy of Art_ (1857) showed the line in which his mind was moving; but it was in _Unto this Last_, _pub._ in the _Cornhill Magazine_ in 1860, that he began fully to develop his views. It brought down upon him a storm of opposition and obloquy which continued for years, and which, while it acted injuriously upon his highly sensitive nervous system, had no effect in silencing him or modifying his views. There followed _Munera Pulveris_ (Gifts of the Dust), _The Crown of Wild Olive_, _Sesame and Lilies_ (1865), _Time and Tide by Wear and Tyne_, and innumerable fugitive articles. In 1869 R. was appointed first Slade Prof. of the Fine Arts at Oxf., and endowed a school of drawing in the Univ. His successive courses of lectures were _pub._ as _Aratra Pentelici_ (Ploughs of Pentelicus) (1870), _The Eagle's Nest_ (1872), _Ariadne Florentina_ (1872), and _Love's Meinie_ (1873). Contemporaneously with these he issued with more or less regularity, as health permitted, _Fors Clavigera_ (Chance the Club-bearer), a series of miscellaneous notes and essays, sold by the author himself direct to the purchasers, the first of a series of experiments--of which the Guild of St. George, a tea room, and a road-making enterprise were other examples--in practical economics. After the death of his mother in 1871 he purchased a small property, Brantwood, in the Lake district, where he lived for the remainder of his life, and here he brought out in monthly parts his last work, _Præterita_, an autobiography, 24 parts of which appeared, bringing down the story to 1864. Here he _d._ on January 20, 1900. R. was a man of noble character and generous impulses, but highly strung, irritable, and somewhat intolerant. He is one of our greatest stylists, copious, eloquent, picturesque, and highly coloured. His influence on his time was very great, at first in the department of art, in which he was for a time regarded as the supreme authority, later and increasingly in the realms of economics and morals, in which he was at first looked upon as an unpractical dreamer. He _m._ in 1848, but the union proved unhappy, and was dissolved in 1855.

For his Life _see_ his own works, especially _Præterita_. _Life and Works_ by Collingwood (2 vols., 1893). _Bibliography_, T.J. Wise (1889-93). Shorter works by Mrs. Meynell, J.A. Hobson, F. Harrison, etc.

RUSSELL, LORD JOHN, 1ST EARL RUSSELL (1792-1878).--Statesman, biographer, and historical writer, third _s._ of the 6th Duke of Bedford, was _ed._ at Westminster School and the Univ. of Edin. He entered Parliament in 1813, and became one of the most eminent English statesmen of the 19th century. He uniformly acted with the Whig and afterwards with the Liberal party, advocated all measures of progress, especially the removal of tests, the extension of education, and Parliamentary reform. He was the leader of his party in the House of Commons from 1834-55, represented the City of London from 1841 until his elevation to the peerage in 1861, and held the offices of Paymaster of the Forces, Home Sec., Colonial Sec., Foreign Sec., and Prime Minister, which last he held twice, 1846-52, and 1865-66. His contributions to literature were considerable, both in number and importance, and include _Essay on the English Constitution_ (1821), _Memoirs of the Affairs of Europe from the Peace of Utrecht_ (1824), _Correspondence of the 4th Duke of Bedford_, _Life, Diary, and Letters of Thomas Moore_, _Correspondence of Charles James Fox_, and a _Life_ of the same statesman, _Essays on the Rise and Progress of the Christian Religion in the West of Europe_ (1873), and _Recollections and Suggestions_ (1875).

RUSSELL, WILLIAM (1741-1793).--Historian, _b._ in Selkirkshire, and apprenticed to a bookseller in Edin., he was patronised by Lord Elibank, and went to London, where he followed literature as a profession. He wrote poems and fables, a _History of America_ (1779), and a _History of Modern Europe_, which he left unfinished.

RUSSELL, SIR WILLIAM HOWARD (1821-1907).--War correspondent, _b._ in Co. Dublin, was called to the Bar in 1850. Having joined the staff of the _Times_, he was sent as war correspondent to the Crimea, his letters from which caused a profound sensation, and led to an improved condition of things in regard to the army. He was also correspondent in India during the Mutiny, in America during the Civil War, and during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, and the Franco-German War of 1870-71, in South Africa in 1879, and in Egypt in 1883. Among his books are _The Adventures of Dr. Brady_ (1868), _Hesperothen_ (1882), _A Visit to Chili_ (1890), and _The Great War with Russia_ (1895). He was knighted in 1895, and also received various foreign decorations.

RUTHERFORD, SAMUEL (1600?-1661).--Theologian and controversialist, _b._ at Nisbet, Roxburghshire, _ed._ at Edin. Univ., where he became in 1623 Regent of Humanity (Prof. of Latin). In 1627 he was settled as minister of Anwoth in Galloway, whence he was banished to Aberdeen for nonconformity. On the re-establishment of Presbytery in 1638 he was made Prof. of Divinity at St. Andrews, and in 1651 Principal of St. Mary's Coll. there, and he was one of the Scottish Commissioners to the Westminster Assembly. At the Restoration he was deprived of all his offices. He was a formidable controversialist, and a strenuous upholder of the divine right of Presbytery. Among his polemical works are _Due Right of Presbyteries_ (1644), _Lex Rex_ (1644), and _Free Disputation against Pretended Liberty of Conscience_. _Lex Rex_ was, after the Restoration, burned by the common hangman, and led to the citation of the author for high treason, which his death prevented from taking effect. His chief fame, however, rests upon his spiritual and devotional works, such as _Christ Dying and drawing Sinners to Himself_, but especially upon his _Letters_, which display a fervour of feeling and a rich imagery which, while highly relished by some, repel others.

RYCAUT, or RICAUT, SIR PAUL (1628-1700).--Historian, was at Camb., and held various diplomatic positions. He wrote _Present State of the Ottoman Empire_ (1668), and a continuation of _Knolles's General Historie of the Turks_, and translated Platina's _Latin History of the Popes_.

RYMER, THOMAS (1641-1713).--Archæologist and critic, _ed._ at Camb., became a barrister at Gray's Inn. He _pub._ in 1678 _Tragedies of the last Age Considered_, in which he passed judgments, very unfavourable, upon their authors, including Shakespeare. He was of much more use as the collector of English treaties, which he _pub._ under the title of _Fædera_, in 20 vols., the last 5 of which were ed. after his death by R. Sanderson (_q.v._). R. also _pub._ poems and a play, _Edgar_. He held the office of historiographer to William III. His learning and industry have received the recognition of many subsequent historians.

ST. JOHN, H., (_see_ BOLINGBROKE).

SALA, GEORGE AUGUSTUS HENRY (1828-1895).--Journalist and novelist, _b._ in London of Italian ancestry, began life as an illustrator of books and scene-painter, afterwards taking to literature. He contributed to many periodicals, including _Household Words_, and the _Illustrated London News_, and was the founder and first ed. of _Temple Bar_. Among his novels were _The Buddington Peerage_ and _Quite Alone_. He also wrote books of travel, and an autobiographical work, his _Life and Adventures_ (1895).

SALE, GEORGE (1697?-1736).--Orientalist, a Kentish man, and practising solicitor. In 1734 he _pub._ a translation of the _Koran_. He also assisted in the _Universal History_, and was one of the correctors of the Arabic New Testament issued by the S.P.C.K.

SANDERSON, ROBERT (1587-1663).--Theologian and casuist, _b._ of good family at Rotherham in Yorkshire, was at Oxf. Entering the Church he rose to be Bishop of Lincoln. His work on logic, _Logicæ Artis Compendium_ (1615), was long a standard treatise on the subject. His sermons also were admired; but he is perhaps best remembered by his _Nine Cases of Conscience Resolved_ (1678), in consideration of which he has been placed at the head of English casuists. He left large collections of historical and heraldic matter in MS.

SANDS, ROBERT CHARLES (1799-1832).--Miscellaneous writer, _b._ at New York, was a scholarly and versatile writer, but without much originality. His best work is in his short stories. His chief poem was _Yamoyden_, an Indian story written in collaboration with a friend.

SANDYS, GEORGE (1578-1644).--Traveller and translator, _s._ of an Archbishop of York, _b._ at Bishopsthorpe, and _ed._ at Oxf., is one of the best of the earlier travellers, learned, observant, and truth-loving. He _pub._ in 1615 an account of his journeys in the East which was highly popular. He also translated when in America the _Metamorphoses_ of Ovid, produced a metrical _Paraphrase on the Psalms_, with music by Henry Lawes, and another on the Canticles, and wrote _Christ's Passion_, a tragedy. He held various public offices, chiefly in connection with the colony of Virginia.

SAVAGE, RICHARD (1697?-1743).--Poet, was probably of humble birth, but claimed to be the illegitimate _s._ of the Countess of Macclesfield. He was the friend of Johnson in the early and miserable days of the latter in London; and in _The Lives of the Poets_ J. has given his story as set forth by himself, which is, if true, a singular record of maternal cruelty. There are strong reasons, however, for doubting whether it was anything but a tissue of falsehoods mingled with gross exaggerations of fact. He led a wildly irregular life, killed a gentleman in a tavern brawl, for which he was sentenced to death, but pardoned; and by his waywardness alienated nearly all who wished to befriend him. For a time he had a pension of £50 from Queen Caroline on condition of his writing an ode yearly on her birthday. He wrote _Love in a Veil_ (1718) (comedy) and _Sir Thomas Overbury_ (1723) (tragedy), and two poems, _The Bastard_ (1728) and _The Wanderer_ (1729). He _d._ in prison at Bristol.

SAVILE, SIR HENRY (1549-1622).--Scholar, _ed._ at Oxf., where he lectured on mathematics. He was afterwards Warden of Merton Coll. and Provost of Eton, and made a translation from Tacitus entitled, _The Ende of Nero and Beginning of Galba, etc._ (1581), and in the same year _pub._ _Rerum Anglicarum Scriptores post Bedam Præcipui_, a collection of some of the chronicles subsequent to Bede, William of Malmesbury, Roger of Hoveden, etc. He founded the Savilian Professorship of Astronomy and Geometry at Oxf.

SAXBY, EDWARD (_d._ 1658).--_B._ in Suffolk, and was in Cromwell's Horse. His extreme republican views, however, led him into the bitterest antagonism when C. assumed the Protectorship. This received expression in his extraordinary pamphlet, _Killing no Murder_, in which the assassination of C. is advocated, and which displays in a remarkable degree perverted ingenuity of argument combined with considerable literary power. S. _d._ demented in the Tower in 1658.

SCOTT, ALEXANDER (1525?-1584?).--Scottish poet. Almost nothing is known of his life, but he is believed to have spent most of his time in or near Edin. Thirty-six short poems are attributed to him, including _Ane New Yeir Gift to Quene Mary_, _The Rondel of Love_, and a satire, _Justing at the Drum_. He has great variety of metre, and is graceful and musical, but his satirical pieces are often extremely coarse.

SCOTT, HUGH STOWELL (1863?-1903).--Novelist (under the name of Henry Seton Merriman). He was an underwriter in Lloyd's, but having a strong literary bent, latterly devoted himself to writing novels, many of which had great popularity. They include _The Slave of the Lamp_ (1892), _The Sowers_ (generally considered his best) (1896), _In Kedar's Tents_ (1897), _Roden's Corner_ (1898), _Isle of Unrest_ (1900), _The Velvet Glove_ (1901), _The Vultures_ (1902), and _Barlasch of the Guard_ (1903). He worked with great care, and his best books hold a high place in modern fiction. He was unusually modest and retiring in character.

SCOTT, JOHN (1730-1783).--Poet, _s._ of a Quaker draper who in his later years lived at Amwell, a village in Herts, which the poet celebrates in his descriptive poem, _Amwell_. He wrote much other verse now forgotten.

SCOTT, LADY JOHN (ALICIA ANN SPOTTISWOODE) (1801-1900).--_M._ Lord John Scott. She was the writer of a number of Scottish songs characterised by true poetic feeling. Among them may be mentioned _Annie Laurie_, _Douglas_, and _Durrisdeer_. She also composed the music for them.

SCOTT, MICHAEL (1789-1835).--Novelist, _b._ near and _ed._ at Glasgow, and settled in business at Kingston, Jamaica, which led to his making frequent sea voyages, and thus yielded him experiences which he turned to account in two vivacious novels, _Tom Cringle's Log_ and _The Cruise of the Midge_, both of which first appeared in _Blackwood's Magazine_, where they attained deserved popularity. They have frequently been reprinted. The author, however, maintained a strict _incognito_ during his life.

SCOTT, SIR WALTER (1771-1832).--Poet, novelist, and biographer, _s._ of Walter S., a Writer to the Signet in Edinburgh, and Margaret Rutherford, _dau._ of one of the Prof. of Medicine in the Univ. there. Through both parents he was connected with several old Border families; his _f._ was a scion of the Scotts of Harden, well known in Border history. In early childhood he suffered from a severe fever, one of the effects of which was a permanent lameness, and for some time he was delicate. The native vigour of his constitution, however, soon asserted itself, and he became a man of exceptional strength. Much of his childhood was spent at his grandfather's farm at Sandyknowe, Roxburghshire, and almost from the dawn of intelligence he began to show an interest in the traditionary lore which was to have so powerful an influence on his future life, an interest which was nourished and stimulated by several of the older members of his family, especially one of his aunts. At this stage he was a quick-witted, excitable child, who required rather to be restrained than pressed forward. At the age of 7 he was strong enough to be sent to the High School of Edinburgh, where he was more remarkable for miscellaneous and out-of-the-way knowledge and his powers of story-telling than for proficiency in the ordinary course of study; and notwithstanding his lameness, he was to be found in the forefront wherever adventure or fighting were to be had. Thereafter he was for three sessions at the Univ., where he bore much the same character as at school. He was, however, far from idle, and was all the time following the irresistible bent, which ultimately led to such brilliant results, in a course of insatiable reading of ballads and romances, to enlarge which he had by the time he was 15 acquired a working knowledge of French and Italian, and had made the acquaintance of Dante and Ariosto in the original. Percy's _Reliques of Ancient Poetry_, _pub._ in 1765, came into his hands in 1784, and proved one of the most formative influences of this period. At 15 he was apprenticed to his _f._, but preferring the higher branch of the profession, he studied for the Bar, to which he was called in 1792. He did not, however, forego his favourite studies, but ransacked the Advocates' Library for old manuscripts, in the deciphering of which he became so expert that his assistance soon came to be invoked by antiquarians of much longer standing. Although he worked hard at law his ideal was not the attainment of an extensive practice, but rather of a fairly paid post which should leave him leisure for his favourite pursuits, and this he succeeded in reaching, being appointed first in 1799 Sheriff of Selkirk, and next in 1812 one of the Principal Clerks to the Court of Session, which together brought him an income of £1600. Meanwhile in 1795 he had translated Bürger's ballad of _Lenore_, and in the following year he made his first appearance in print by publishing it along with a translation of _The Wild Huntsman_ by the same author. About the same time he made the acquaintance of "Monk" Lewis, to whose collection of _Tales of Wonder_ he contributed the ballads of _Glenfinlas_, _The Eve of St. John_, and _The Grey Brother_; and he _pub._ in 1799 a translation of Goethe's _Goetz von Berlichingen_. In 1797 he was _m._ to Miss Charlotte Margaret Charpentier, the _dau._ of a French gentleman of good position. The year 1802 saw the publication of Scott's first work of real importance, _The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border_, of which 2 vols. appeared, the third following in the next year. In 1804 he went to reside at Ashestiel on the Tweed, where he ed. the old romance, _Sir Tristrem_, and in 1805 he produced his first great original work, _The Lay of the Last Minstrel_, which was received with great favour, and decided that literature was thenceforth to be the main work of his life. In the same year the first few chapters of _Waverley_ were written; but the unfavourable opinion of a friend led to the MS. being laid aside for nearly 10 years. In 1806 S. began, by a secret partnership, that association with the Ballantynes which resulted so unfortunately for him 20 years later. _Marmion_ was _pub._ in 1808: it was even more popular than the _Lay_, and raised his reputation proportionately. The same year saw the publication of his elaborate ed. of Dryden with a Life, and was also marked by a rupture with Jeffrey, with whom he had been associated as a contributor to the _Edinburgh Review_, and by the establishment of the new firm of J. Ballantyne and Co., of which the first important publication was _The Lady of the Lake_, which appeared in 1810, _The Vision of Don Roderick_ following in 1811. In 1812 S. purchased land on the Tweed near Melrose, and built his famous house, Abbotsford, the adornment of which became one of the chief pleasures of his life, and which he made the scene of a noble and kindly hospitality. In the same year he _pub._ _Rokeby_, and in 1813 _The Bridal of Triermain_, while 1814 saw _The Life and Works of Swift_ in 19 vols., and was made illustrious by the appearance of _Waverley_, the two coming out in the same week, the latter, of course, like its successors, anonymously. The next year, _The Lord of the Isles_, _Guy Mannering_, and _The Field of Waterloo_ appeared, and the next again, 1816, _Paul's Letters to his Kinsfolk_, _The Antiquary_, _The Black Dwarf_, and _Old Mortality_, while 1817 saw _Harold the Dauntless_ and _Rob Roy_. The enormous strain which S. had been undergoing as official, man of letters, and man of business, began at length to tell upon him, and in this same year, 1817, he had the first of a series of severe seizures of cramp in the stomach, to which, however, his indomitable spirit refused to yield, and several of his next works, _The Heart of Midlothian_ (1818), by many considered his masterpiece, _The Bride of Lammermoor_, _The Legend of Montrose_, and _Ivanhoe_, all of 1819, were dictated to amanuenses, while he was too ill to hold a pen. In 1820 _The Monastery_, in which the public began to detect a falling off in the powers of the still generally unknown author, appeared. The immediately following _Abbot_, however, 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 £130,000. 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 £8000; by 1828 he had earned £40,000. 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 Dürer, 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 Molière, 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.