The Life and Correspondence of Robert Southey
Robert Southey to Thomas Southey, 22 August 1805
“Keswick, August 22. 1805,
“I wrote to you as soon as the letter, by favour of
old Neptune, arrived; as both seem to have
taken the same course, it will now be desirable to have others thrown over in
that track, and if half a dozen should in half a century follow one another, it
would prove the existence of a current.
“Our neighbour General
Peachy invited us lately to meet Lord
Somerville at dinner. . . . . From hence he went into Scotland,
and there saw ——, who was on the point of coming here to
visit Wordsworth and me. To
—— he spoke of the relationship with us; he said of me
and Wordsworth that, however we might have got into good
company, he might depend upon it we were still Jacobins at heart, and that he
believed he had been instrumental in having us looked after in Somersetshire.
This refers to a spy who was sent down to Stowey to look after Coleridge and Wordsworth;
the fellow, after trying to tempt the country people to tell lies, could
collect nothing more than that the gentlemen used to walk a good deal upon the
coast, and that they were what they called poets. He got drunk at the inn, and
told his whole errand and history, but we did not till now know who was the
main mover. . . . .
“Continue, I beseech you, to write your remarks upon
all you see and all you hear; but do not trust them to letters, lest they
should be lost Keep ![]()
| 344 | LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE | Ætat. 30. |
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minutes of what you write. Such
letters as your last would make a very interesting and very valuable volume.
Little is known here of the W. Indies, except commercially; the moral and
physical picture would have all the effect of novelty. In particular, look to
the state of the slaves. If you were now in England it is very possible that
your evidence might have considerable weight before the House of Lords, now
that the question of abolition is again coming on. Keep your eye upon every
thing; describe the appearance of the places you visit, as seen from the
ship,—your walks on shore,—in short, make drawings in writing;
nothing is so easy as to say what you see, if you will but disregard how you
say it, and think of nothing but explaining yourself fully. Write me the
history of a planter’s day—what are his meals—at what
hours—what his dress—what his amusements—what the
employments, pleasures, education, &c., of his children and family. Collect
any anecdotes connected with the French expeditions—with the present or
the last war,—and depend upon it, that by merely amusing yourself thus
you may bring home excellent and ample materials, to which I will add a number
of curious historical facts, gleaned from the Spanish historians and
travellers.
“The seas are clear for you once more, and I hope by
this time you have picked up some more prizes. Your climate, too, is now
getting comfortable: I envy you as much in winter as you can envy me in summer.
. . . .
“God bless you!”
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)
English poet and philosopher who projected
Lyrical Ballads (1798)
with William Wordsworth; author of
Biographia Literaria (1817),
On the Constitution of the Church and State (1829) and other
works.
William Peachey (1763 c.-1838)
Of Gosport, educated at Trinity College, Oxford; he was lieutenant-general in the 10th
Hussars and was a Tory MP for Yarmouth (1797-1802) and Taunton (1826-30). He corresponded
with W. L. Bowles and Robert Southey.
John Somers, baron Somers (1651-1716)
Whig politician, member of the Kit-Kat Club, friend of Addison, Steele, and Swift; he was
lord chancellor (1697).
Thomas Southey (1777-1838)
The younger brother of Robert Southey; he was a naval captain (1811) and afterwards a
Customs officer. He published
A Chronological History of the West
Indies (1828).
William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
With Coleridge, author of
Lyrical Ballads (1798), Wordsworth
survived his early unpopularity to succeed Robert Southey as poet laureate in 1843.
