SMITH. 



court, was nominated a privy counfellor, and made affillant 

 to lord Burghlcy, in his office of fecretary of itate. In 

 1572 he was employed to negociate an alliance with France, 

 and after his return lie fucceeded lord Burghley, who was 

 advanced to the pod of treafurer. He died in 1577, at 

 the age of 63. Sir Thomas Smith is charafterifed by his 

 eulogift, as " a mafter of various languages, ancient and mo- 

 dern, and as extremely well verfed in feveral fciences. 

 He was pious, upright, and benevolent, and feems to have 

 been perfeAly free from the duplicity and craft which were 

 too frequent in the ftatefmen of that age." He is chiefly 

 known as a writer by the " Commonwealth of England," 

 already referred to. Several of his letters have been printed 

 in different colleftions, and four of his orations, on queen 

 Elizabeth's projefted marriage, are annexed to his Life by 

 Strype. Biog. Brit. 



Smith, Thomas, a learned writer, was born at London 

 in 1638. He was admitted of Queen's college, Oxford, 

 in 1657, and after taking his degree in arts, was chofen, in 

 1663, mafter of the free-fchool adjoining to Magdalen col- 

 lege. He became fellow of that college in 1666, and was 

 diftinguifhed for his great knowledge in the Oriental lan- 

 guages. He accompanied the Englilh ambafiador to Con- 

 Santinople in 1668, and afterwards lived feveral years as 

 chaplain with (ir Jofeph Williamfon, fecretary of ftate. 

 He quitted him without any preferment, and was earnelUy 

 folicited by feveral eminent clergymen, his particular friends, 

 who knew his value, to return to the Levant, in order to 

 colledt MSS. ; but knowing the danger attending fuch a 

 bufmefs, he put a negative on their propofal. He had 

 already made himfelf known to the learned world by a 

 Latin difiertation on the Chaldee paraphratls, and their ver- 

 fions, another on the Druids, and feveral fermons on doc- 

 trinal points. He had alio publifhed fome Latin epiftles 

 concerning the manners and inftitutions of the Turks, and 

 the feven churches of Afia ; of which he afterwards 

 printed an Englifh tranflation ; and in 1680 he publifhed an 

 account of the Greek church. To thefe works, relative to 

 what he had obferved in the Eaft, may be added fome papers 

 communicated by him to the Philofophical Tranfaftions, 

 and others contained in a coUeftion of trafts, entitled " Mif- 

 cellanea." In 1683 he took his degree of D.D., and was 

 prefented to a college-living, which he foon refigned, and 

 continued to refide on his fellowlhip. When James II., iu 

 1 687, fent a mandate to Magdalen college for the admiffion 

 of a popifh fellow. Dr. Smith was one of the few perfons 

 who petitioned again ft the meafure, but he was far from 

 fteady in his oppofition ; and when the king fignified his 

 determination to be obeyed. Dr. Smith was one of the 

 two fellows who fubmitted, and in confequence preferved 

 their fellowfhips, while the others had the honour of being 

 expelled. The doftor, however, did not go far enough to 

 pleafe his fovereign, and was eventually expelled from his 

 office. The fucceeding troubles produced his reftoration : 

 but in 1692, refufing to take the oaths required by the 

 government of WiUiam and Mary, he loft his fellowfhip 

 and living with which he had been prefented. He thence- 

 forth refided chiefly in the family of fir John Cotton, oc- 

 cupied in his ftudies, and in the compofition of a variety of 

 works. Of thefe, the greater part was of the antiquarian 

 and biographical clafs. In the latter, his principal publi- 

 cation was entitled " Vits quorundam eruditiffimorum et 

 illuftrium Virorum," containing the lives of archbilhop 

 Ulher and feveral other eminent charafters. Dr. Smith 

 died in 17 10: he is charafterifed by his biographer as 

 a man of great induitry and learning, but he dif- 

 played in his writings much party bigotry and illibe- 



rality. His Latin ftyle is neither clear nor fimple. Bioe 

 Bnt. ^' 



Smith, Charlotte, daughter of Nicholas Turner, efq. 

 a gentleman of confiderable property in the counties of 

 Surry and Suifex, when very young married Mr. Smith, 

 the fon of a Weft India merchant. This match was not 

 the effedt of attachment on either fide, and was produftive 

 of much mifery, of which a long account is given in 

 the Monthly Magazine, vol. xxiii. p. 244. The affairs 

 of Mr. Smith not proving profperous, the, after various 

 perfecutions from creditors, and after palling fome time 

 in the gloom of a prifon with her hufband, retired to a 

 convent in Normandy. Here fhe was reduced to the ut- 

 moft indigence, yet the exertion of her talents adminiftered 

 to her wants. She wrote feveral novels, which gained her 

 a comfortable fubfiftence. She died, after various changes 

 and misfortunes of hfe, at Thetford, near Farnham, Surry, 

 in the year 1806. Her principal novels are as follow : 

 " The Romance of Real Life ;" " Emmeline ;" " Ethe- 

 linda ;" " Celeftina ;" " Defmond ;" and " The Old 

 Manor Houfe." They difplay great powers of invention ; 

 and it is remarkable, that in them all fhe has contrived to 

 interweave much of her own perfonal hiftory, and painted 

 in very ftrong colours the charafters of certain rapacious 

 perfons, to whofe difhonelly fhe afcribed all, or at leaft the 

 greater part, of her forrows. Mrs. Smith was alfo author 

 of poems, fonnets, and two fmall volumes, entitled " Con- 

 verfations introducing Poetry, chiefly on Subjefts of Natu- 

 ral Hiftory, for the Ufe of young Perfons." Her defcrip- 

 tions are interefting, and her ftyle is elegant. Her fonnets 

 poflefs great beauty, and all her writings every where dif- 

 play the powers of a fine imagination, correft tafte, and 

 ftrong judgment. 



Smith, George, a native of Chichefter, born in 1714, was, 

 in defpite of circumflances in every refpeft unfavourable, a de- 

 votee to the art of painting, particularly in landfcape ; and 

 by dint of determined perfeverance fucceeded in producing 

 fome works which do honour to his name. He was among 

 the firft who refcued the Englifh name, in art, from the 

 odium caft upon it by foreigners, and prepared the way for 

 the brilliant efforts of Wilfon, His idea of compofition 

 may be eftimated from the print, which Woollett engraved 

 after the picture for which the Society in the Adelphi gave 

 him their higheft premium, and which prefents a conception 

 almoft worthy of Claude : his colouring, indeed, did not 

 keep pace with the defign, and his touch was too minute 

 and trifling. There are many prints of his other produc- 

 tions, fome etched by himfelf, but the one we have men- 

 tioned is the fineft. He died in 1766. 



Smith, Robert, LL.D. and D.D., was a contem- 

 porary to Barrow. After all our refearches, we have not 

 been able to colleft any particulars relating to the place of 

 his birth, which was probably in Lincolnfhire, and the pro- 

 grefs of his early years. It appears, however, that he 

 was admitted A.B. in 17 11, A.M. in 17 15, LL.D. in 

 1723, and S.T.P. by royal mandate in 1739. He was firft 

 fellow, afterwards profeffor of aftronomy and experimental 

 philofophy, of which he was made Plumean profeffor in 

 1 7 1 6, fupplying the place of his coufin, the celebrated Cotes ; 

 and he fucceeded Dr. Bentley, in 1742, in the mafterfhip of 

 Trinity college, in the univerfity of Cambridge. He had 

 been preceptor to William, duke of Cumberland, and was 

 mafter of mechanics to the king. In the year 1722 he 

 publiflied, at Cambridge, Cotes's "Harmonia Menfurarum," 

 with additions, in 4to. : in 1738 appeared his " Complete 

 Syftem of Optics, in four books, -viz. a popular, a mathema- 

 tical, a mechanical, and a philofophical treatife," &c. 2 vols. 



4to. : 



