Smith Horaceand James

Smith, HORACE and JAMES, were born respectively in 1780 anct 1775, being the sons of a prosperous London solicitor, In 1812 a prize was offered for a poem, to be recited at the opening of the New Drury Lane Theatre and the Smiths conceived the happy idea of writing parodies of the styles of all contemporary poets, and publishing them in a volume entitled Rejected Addresses. James took Wordsworth, Southey, Coleridge, and Crabbe, whilst Byron, Moore, Scott, and Bowles fell to the share of Horace. The venture proved an immense success, and was so gracefully undertaken as to hurt nobody's feelings. James never made any subsequent attempt to add to his fame. He died in 1839. Horace earned a fortune on the Stock Exchange, and then essayed to fill Scott's place as historical novelist. Out of a score of his romances Brambletye House alone survives. He died 1849.