2072. Robert Southey to John May, 4 April 1812
2072. Robert Southey to John May, 4 April 1812 *
Keswick. April 4. 1812
My dear friend
I am perfectly ashamed xx at finding it possible that in a matter of business I should have committed such a blunder, – forgotten it I had not, but had supposed April was the month for payment instead of March. [1] Thank you for this kindness among many others – I shall be able to replace the sum, & also to remit you 100£ toward the discharge of my debt, from the Register [2] of this year, – which is more than half printed, & will probably appear in June, – th at least if it be delayed beyond that time it will not be by me.
A Memoir of Mr Walpole [3] will be in time, – if no time be lost about it. – but as it must appear as a Memoir (for the Chronicle is printed, & the list of deaths is a mere list, it should contain something more than an account of his private merits: how far the history of his public conduct may be divulged, you best know. All I can say is that in remembrance of some civilities receivd from him & Mrs W. [4] – as well as from that kind of feeling concerning Lisbon, which now begins to be a melancholy one, & which you can very well understand, I should not only be willing but gratified by showing him this mark of respect to his memory. the politics of his time form precisely that part of the hist: of Portugal with which I am least acquainted. But with respect to one matter which was of considerable importance at the time, & must always be so while we have factories in Catholic countries, (that of the attempt to admit xx Catholics into the factory) [5] I possess my Uncle’s papers. – I should take this opportunity of making the funeral oration of the factory, [6] – will you therefore have the goodness to transcribe for me that dedication of Tindals which you once pointed out to me in a volume of his Rapin. [7] – You may perceive that in the act of replying to your proposal, the xxx sketch has formed itself in my mind. –
My volume for 1810 [8] will be rich in Spanish history. It employs me closely. Remember me to Mrs May
Yrs ever affectionately
R Southey.
Coleridge has left us, & is I suppose by this time in town where he will soon commence a course of lectures at the West end. [9]
Notes
* Endorsement: No. 157. 1812/ Robert Southey/ Keswick 4th April/ recd. 7 do/ ansd. 13 do
MS: Brotherton Library, University of Leeds. ALS; 2p.
Unpublished. BACK
[1] John May had given Southey advice on insurance policies, so possibly Southey had forgotten to pay the premium due on his policy. BACK
[3] Robert Walpole (1736–1810), Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Portugal, 1771–1800. Southey had been asked to write his life. It was not published. BACK
[5] British merchants who were Catholics were not allowed to join the British Factory in Lisbon – a subject which caused some controversy in the 1780s and 1790s. BACK
[6] The Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1810 had formally abolished the British Factory at Lisbon, but it was not finally wound up until 1825. BACK
[7] Nicholas Tindal (1687–1774; DNB), historical writer and translator. He produced a fifteen volume translation of Rapin de Thoyras’s (1661–1725) History of England (1725–1731) and a Continuation of Mr. Rapin’s History of England (1744–1745). The ‘dedication’ might be a reference to Tindal’s address to Frederick, Prince of Wales (1707–1751; DNB), in volume 2 of the second edition of the History (1732). This was reprinted in Gentleman’s Magazine, 3 (1733), 356–357, where it was commended for not ‘offering the false Incense of Adulation’, but expressing itself in ‘Plainness and Truth, which is becoming a Freeman and an Englishman.’ The Prince rewarded Tindal with 40 guineas and a gold medal. BACK
