| Critic. 46: 284. Mr. ‘05. 70w. |
“You might call Lady Russell’s book a story of fleeting beauties. Are not so much idealizations as realities.”
| + + | N. Y. Times. 10: 64. Ja. 28, ‘05. 1260w. (Survey of contents.) |
[*] “This is an admirable literary work now revised and reproduced in a most admirable manner.”
| + + | N. Y. Times. 10: 836. D. 2, ‘05. 180w. |
Russell, George William Erskine. [Sydney Smith.] [**]75c. Macmillan.
A volume in the “English men of letters series.” A full treatment of the life and personality of a man celebrated for his wit, but whose more solid qualities as a man of letters, a founder of the Edinburgh Review, a lecturer on moral philosophy, a writer of pamphlets, a politician, and a clergyman, deserve respect. His humor found him a ready audience, and his keen shafts were used to point his morals more effectively.
“Mr. George Russell’s biography is adequate and sympathetic. He has selected his material with discretion, and has let Sydney Smith tell his own story as far as possible. Now and again the biographer permits his own prejudices to intervene, and so strikes a jarring note. The book is a coherent, intelligible account of a great man.”
| + + — | Acad. 68: 122. F. 11, ‘05. 1800w. | |
| + + | Ath. 1905, 1: 234. F. 25. 1500w. |
“He seems, in short, pretty thoroughly to have summed up the Sydney Smith question; no more elaborate study of him is likely to be needed.” H. W. Boynton.