A Memoir of the Reverend Sydney Smith
Letters 1807
Sydney Smith to Lady Holland, 14 July 1807
July 14th, 1807.
My dear Lady Holland,
Mr. Allen has mentioned to me the letters of a Mr. Plymley, which
I have obtained from the adjacent market-town, and read with some
entertainment. My conjecture lies between three persons—Sir Samuel Romilly, Sir Arthur Pigott, or Mr. Horner, for the name is evidently
fictitious. I shall be very happy to hear your conjectures on this subject on
Saturday,
| MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. | 29 |
when I hope you will let me dine with you at
Holland House, but I must sleep in town that night. I shall come to Holland
House, unless I hear to the contrary, and will then answer Lord Holland’s letter.
John Allen (1771-1843)
Scottish physician and intimate of Lord Holland; he contributed to the
Edinburgh Review and
Encyclopedia Britannica and published
Inquiry into the Rise and Growth of the Royal Prerogative in
England (1830). He was the avowed atheist of the Holland House set.
Henry Richard Fox, third baron Holland (1773-1840)
Whig politician and literary patron; Holland House was for many years the meeting place
for reform-minded politicians and writers. He also published translations from the Spanish
and Italian;
Memoirs of the Whig Party was published in 1852.
Francis Horner (1778-1817)
Scottish barrister and frequent contributor to the
Edinburgh
Review; he was a Whig MP and member of the Holland House circle.
Sir Arthur Leary Pigott (1749-1819)
English lawyer educated at the Middle Temple; a political associate of Charles James Fox,
he was solicitor-general to the prince of Wales (1783-92), and MP for Steyning (1806),
Arundel (1806-12, 1818-19), and Horsham (1812-18).
Sir Samuel Romilly (1757-1818)
Reformer of the penal code and the author of
Thoughts on Executive
Justice (1786); he was a Whig MP and Solicitor-General who died a suicide.