“I was preparing last night to write to you, but the
newspaper came, and, seeing therein that a mail was arrived, I waited till this
evening for a letter, and have not been disappointed. Thank you for the turtle,
and thank heaven it has never reached me: in bodily fear lest it should, I
wrote off immediately to Wynn, and if he
had not been in town, should have given it to any body who would have been kind
enough to have eased me of so inconvenient a visitor. How, Tom, could you think of sending me a turtle!
When, indeed, I come to be Lord
| 358 | LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE | Ætat. 30. |
“Your extracts are very interesting, but several have miscarried;—the Devil seems to be Postmaster-General on that station. Go on as you have begun, and you will soon collect more, and more valuable, materials than you are aware of. Describe a West Indian tavern,—its difference from ours. Go to church one Sunday, to describe church and congregation. Inquire at every town if there be any schools there,—any Dissenters;—how the Methodists get on;—collect some Jamaica newspapers,—and, if you can, the Magazine which is printed there. Your Tortola-letter is a very delightful one. Put down all the stories you hear. When you go ashore, take notice of the insects that you see, the birds, &c.—‘all make parts of the picture.’ Lose nothing that a Creole, or any man acquainted with the islands, tells you concerning them. Send me all the stories about Pompey—he must be a curious character; ask him his history. What sort of church-yards have they? any epitaphs? Where do they bury the negroes? Is there any funeral service for them?
“You talk of invasion: depend upon it it never will
and never can be attempted while our fleet is what it is; and poor Nelson has left its name higher than ever. What a
blaze of glory has he departed in!
| Ætat. 30. | OF ROBERT SOUTHEY. | 359 |
“No further news of the sale of Madoc. The reviews will probably hurt it for a time; that is in their power, and that is all they can do. Unquestionably the poem will stand and flourish. I am perfectly satisfied with the execution,—now eight months after its publication, in my cool judgment. Wm. Taylor has said it is the best English poem that has left the press since the Paradise Lost;—indeed this is not exaggerated praise, for unfortunately there is no competition.
“I want you grievously to tell Espriella stories about the navy, and give him a
good idea of its present state, which of course I cannot venture to do except
very slightly, and very cautiously, fully aware of my own incompetence. Some of
your own stories you will recognise. The book will be very amusing, and
promises more profit than any of my former works. Most praise I have had for
Amadis, for the obvious
reason that it excited no envy;—they who were aiming at distinction as
poets, &c., without success, had no objection to allow that I could
translate from the Spanish. But praise and fame are two very distinct things.
Nobody thinks the higher of me for that translation, or feels a wish
| 360 | LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE | Ætat. 30. |
“Little Edith looks at the picture of the ships in the Cyclopedia, and listens to the story how she has an uncle who lives in a ship, and loves her dearly, and sends her a kiss in a letter. Poor Cupid* has been hung at last for robbing a hen-roost! Your three half-crown sticks, you see, were bestowed upon him in vain. He is the first of all my friends who ever came to the gallows; and I am very sorry for him;—poor fellow! I was his god-father. Of Joe the last accounts were good. Thus have I turned my memory inside out, to rummage out all the news for you, and little enough it is. We live here in the winter as much out of the way of all society as if we were cruising at sea. From November till June not a soul do we see,—except, perhaps, Wordsworth, once or twice during the time. Of course it is my working season, and I get through a great deal. Edith’s love. God bless you, Tom.
