SMART, CHRISTOPHER (1722-1771)

—Poet, s. of the steward to Lord Vane, was b. at Ship bourne, Kent, and by the bounty of the Duche of Cleveland sent to Camb. Here his ill-balanced mind showed itself in wild folly. Leaving the Univ. he came to London and maintained himself by conducting and writing for periodicals. His Poems on Several Occasions , which contained "The Hop Garden," was i ued in 1752, and The Hilliad in 1753 against "Sir" John Hill, a notoriety of the day who had attacked him. His mind ultimately gave way, and it was in confinement a most original and powerful poem. Unfortunate to the last, he d. in the King's Bench prison, to which he had been committed for debt. He also translated Horace.