A Memoir of the Reverend Sydney Smith
Letters 1817
Sydney Smith to Edward Davenport, 15 August 1817
Scarborough, August 15th,
1817.
My dear Sir,
I received your note at Scarborough, where I am with my
brother, his family, and my
father. From
142 | MEMOIR OF THE REV. SYDNEY SMITH. | |
this place they all go to my house at Foston, and there they must be packed by
——’s condensing machine.
Under these circumstances, it will be quite impossible to
enjoy the pleasure of your company. Some other time I hope I shall be more
fortunate. I am truly obliged to you for your friendly intention and
recollection of my invitation.
Our friend Philips
is getting much better, and is making very laudable resolutions of intemper
nee, having been very much blamed by Baillie for his abstemious habits.
I remain, dear Davenport, sincerely yours,
Matthew Baillie (1761-1823)
Physician and brother of Joanna Baillie; as successor to the anatomist William Hunter he
treated the pedal deformities of both Walter Scott and Lord Byron.
Edward Davies Davenport (1778-1847)
Of Capesthorne Hall, Cheshire, the son of Davies Davenport (d. 1837); educated at Christ
Church, Oxford, he was MP for Shaftesbury (1826-30).
Sir George Philips, first baronet (1766-1847)
Textile magnate and Whig MP; in addition to his mills in Staffordshire and Lancashire he
was a trading partner with Richard “Conversation” Sharp. He was created baronet in
1828.
Robert Smith (1739 c.-1827)
The father of Sydney and Bobus Smith; he was a merchant and traveler described by Nowell
C. Smith as “handsome, clever, restless, and selfish.”
Robert Percy Smith [Bobus Smith] (1770-1845)
The elder brother of Sydney Smith; John Hookham Frere, George Canning, and Henry Fox he
wrote for the
Microcosm at Eton; he was afterwards a judge in India
and MP.