Samuel Rogers and his Contemporaries
Samuel Rogers to Sarah Rogers, 26 September 1826
‘Keswick: 26 Sept., 1826.
‘My dear Sarah,—You will be surprised to hear that I am still here,
but Sir George cannot stir, though he is
wringing his hands all day long at the improvement of roads and bridges.
Wordsworth came last Tuesday and,
though he lives at Southey’s, he
rides out with us every ![]()
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day, and
almost every evening we are all together. On Tuesday, W., Sir
George, and I go to Ulleswater, and on Friday to Lowther, where
Southey joins us for a day or two. We shall stay till
the seventh or eighth of October, and then Sir George goes
to Mulgrave. Almost all the way is homeward, and I shall most likely avail
myself of his carriage as far as I can. He wants me to go to Mulgrave, which, I
believe, is very beautiful, on the Scarborough coast. If I do I must go to
Castle Howard, if but for a day or two. I wish much to come back to town, but I
can’t be in two places, and have decided nothing. It was Mr. Wm. Taylor we had at
Southey’s. We have since been at three crowded
evenings there (they have entertained seventy-five people in the last
fortnight) and once have dined at General
Peachy’s on the island. So we are not idle. I forget
whether you know that Rothermirkus Grant
is so ruined as to be going out to India as a counsel, where the ground is
almost entirely pre-occupied. His son has behaved so nobly, sacrificing himself
to his father and the creditors, that they have entrusted him with the whole
management of the estate. This I had from Mackintosh—a sad prospect for them. We have had
delightful weather, and Sir G. is every instant crying
out, “This alone is enough to repay us for all our labours,” but
the country is certainly beautiful, and fascinates as much as ever. We have
been to Buttermere and Watendlath, and most of the places. Last week
Filler went up Skiddaw, a great effort for him.
Mrs. Opie is said to be at Ambleside,
and there appear to be as many lakers as ever. Our horses are very good and
safe. I wish you were upon one of them. Have you ![]()
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met with
a house to your mind yet. I fear not. Perhaps this will find you at the
sea—but if not, I shall be very glad to be with you there by and by. We
rise at seven, walk from eight to half-past nine, ride out from eleven till
four, dine, and walk again till dusk—exercise enough perhaps to wear us
out—but I am never out of bed at eleven at night. I wish much I had met
with Sutton, and hope he was pleased.
The Attorney-General has been here, and
Wordsworth learnt a long history of the Wakefields
from him. How does your new maid wear? I hope, when you call, you find
Ellwood content, and going on well in St.
James’s Place. Next week are the Carlisle races, which, among other
reasons, delays our visit to Lowther. The children here are innumerable and all
shod with wood or iron, and as they are always clattering along under the
window, they put one in mind of the French children in the villages, formerly.
I will write again from Lowther, where I hope to receive a letter from you. My
love to Henry. I hope
Caroline is well again, and
George still mending.
‘Yours ever most affectionately,
S. R.
‘Mrs. Opie
is living at Grasmere on a visit to Mr.
Barber, who drives her about in an open carriage.’
Samuel Barber (d. 1832)
Of Gell Cottage; a man of fashion and neighbour of Wordsworth at Grasmere.
John Singleton Copley, baron Lyndhurst (1772-1863)
The son of the American painter; he did legal work for John Murray before succeeding Lord
Eldon as lord chancellor (1827-30, 1834-35, 1841-46); a skilled lawyer, he was also a
political chameleon.
Sir John Peter Grant of Rothiemurchus, (1774-1848)
MP for Great Grimsby (1812-18) and Tavistock (1819-26); as a politician he was patronized
by the Duke of Bedford until when pressed by his creditors he emigrated to India where he
pursued a legal career.
Sir James Mackintosh (1765-1832)
Scottish philosopher and man of letters who defended the French Revolution in
Vindiciae Gallicae (1791); he was Recorder of Bombay (1803-1812) and
MP for Knaresborough (1819-32).
Amelia Opie [née Alderson] (1769-1853)
Quaker poet and novelist; in 1798 she married the painter John Opie (1761-1807); author
of
Father and Daughter (1801) and other novels and moral
fables.
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.
Henry Rogers (1774-1832)
Son of Thomas Rogers (1735-93) and youngest brother of the poet Thomas Rogers; he was the
head of the family bank, Rogers, Towgood, and Co. until 1824, and a friend of Charles
Lamb.
Samuel Rogers (1763-1855)
English poet, banker, and aesthete, author of the ever-popular
Pleasures of Memory (1792),
Columbus (1810),
Jaqueline (1814), and
Italy (1822-28).
Sarah Rogers (1772-1855)
Of Regent's Park. the younger sister of the poet Samuel Rogers; she lived with her
brother Henry in Highbury Terrace.
Robert Southey (1774-1843)
Poet laureate and man of letters whose contemporary reputation depended upon his prose
works, among them the
Life of Nelson, 2 vols (1813),
History of the Peninsular War, 3 vols (1823-32) and
The Doctor, 7 vols (1834-47).
William Taylor of Norwich (1765-1836)
Translator, poet, and essayist; he was a pupil of Anna Letitia Barbauld and correspondent
of Robert Southey who contributed to the
Monthly Magazine, the
Monthly Review, the
Critical Review, and
other periodicals.
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.
