3923. Robert Southey to Henry Herbert Southey, 25 November 1822

 

MS: Keswick Museum and Art Gallery, 1996.5.126. ALS; 3p.
Previously published: John Wood Warter (ed.), Selections from the Letters of Robert Southey, 4 vols (London, 1856), III, pp. 347–349.

Keswick 25. Nov. 1822.
My dear Harry

I do not recollect whether I have given you joy of your son

(1)

Henry Herbert Southey, Jnr (1822–1829) was born on 6 November 1822.

or not; – for without talking extravagantly or madly upon the subject, where there is a fair prospect that a child will be fairly set forward in the world, its birth is a subject for congratulation. Besides it is a joyful change in a house when all is “as well as can be expected.”

The letter for Sir William comes herewith.

(2)

Southey to William Knighton, 25 November 1822, Letter 3922. This asked Knighton to present a copy of the first volume of the History of the Peninsular War (1823–1832) to George IV, to whom it was dedicated.

Will you tell Murray where a copy can be directed to Haygarth,

(3)

William Haygarth (1784–1825), a poet and travel writer, son of the physician John Haygarth (1740–1827; DNB). Haygarth was a friend of Henry Herbert Southey and had provided Southey with a letter describing the campaign in northern Portugal in 1809; see Southey to Herbert Hill, 31 January 1816, The Collected Letters of Robert Southey. Part Five, Letter 2705.

to whom one is due for some materials which he communicated.

If the King would make me a present of the publications of the Record Committee

(4)

Commissioners on the Public Records of the Kingdom had been periodically appointed since 1800. They had supported plans to publish series such as Statutes of the Realm (1810–1825).

they would be well bestowed. & I want too many costly books for my historical pursuits, & these are among them. Wherever original documents are within my reach I go to them; & it is surprizing how much I find there which has been overlooked. My gleanings are often worth more than the harvest of those who have been before me. Something of this you will see in the B of the Church,

(5)

Southey’s The Book of the Church (1824).

at which I have been chiefly employed since your departure.

You must know <more> concerning the QR.

(6)

William Gifford, the editor of the Quarterly Review, was ill and there was much speculation over who would succeed him; John Taylor Coleridge did so briefly.

at this time than I do. A note from Murray some fortnight ago let me know that he was well disposed toward John Coleridge, & waited till he could talk with Gifford upon the subject. – & I have heard nothing since from any quarter. If he understood his own interest, there could not be a moments hesitation. What with Giffords indifference in all matters of taste – (where if he had any leaning it was to the wrong side) with his admission of mischievous articles, such as those relating to America, & of the sermons of the Dean of Westminster

(7)

John Ireland (1761–1842; DNB), Dean of Westminster 1816–1842. He was a close friend of William Gifford and had been a regular contributor to the Quarterly Review.

(to whom I ascribe the discourse on Lord Byron in the last number)

(8)

The review of Byron’s Marino Faliero, Doge of Venice. An Historical Tragedy, in Five Acts. With Notes. The Prophecy of Dante, a Poem (1821) and Sardanapulus, A Tragedy. The Two Foscari, A Tragedy, Cain, A Mystery (1821), Quarterly Review, 27 (July 1822), 476–524, published 23 October 1822, was by Reginald Heber, not John Ireland. It was not the swingeing condemnation that Southey would have liked.

& what with the disgraceful temper in which some of his own papers were written, & som the Review might easily decline as rapidly as it had risen.

There is a passage from my tender epistle quoted in the last number.

(9)

Francis Palgrave’s review of the first volume of Lewis Cottingham (1787–1847), Plans, Elevations, Sections, Details and Views of the Magnificent Chapel of King Henry VII at Westminster Abbey Church, with a History of its Foundation &c (1822–1829), Quarterly Review, 27 (July 1822), 308–336 (esp. 310–311), published 23 October 1822, quoting Southey’s A Letter to William Smith, Esq., M. P. (London, 1817), pp. 37–41. Southey suggests that this passage had originated in one censored by Gifford from Southey’s article, ‘Parliamentary Reform’, Quarterly Review, 16 (October 1816), 225–278, published 11…

It is curious that that very passage should have been originally written for the review, & struck out of it by the Editor.

I will tell you another anecdote. Lord Holland has lately edited Sir Charles Hanbury Williams’s poems.

(10)

The Works of the Right Hon. Sir Chas Hanbury Williams (1822). Charles Hanbury Williams (1708–1759; DNB) was a diplomat and writer. Southey had declined to edit his poems as Williams was ‘not quite so decent as he should be’; see Robert Southey to Charles Danvers, 23 March 1802, The Collected Letters of Robert Southey. Part Two, Letter 664.

They were put into my hands for that purpose in 1802; – & I refused to have any part in bringing them out because of their profligacy.

Your precepts have been observed as regularly as a series of dreadfully tempestuous weather would let me; – at some expence of time, but with less effort, as it becomes a habit. I was over the Dod

(11)

A small fell north west of Keswick.

some ten days ago with Senhouse. The boat is now laid upon the island, not having been used since your departure, – for there literally has not been one day pleasant enough for going on the water.

I should be very glad to hear of John Coleridges accession, which if Gifford continues to be incapacitated, cannot be deferred much longer. – To day I have a letter from John May – dated Falmouth, – – it contains a promise of strong beer, – for which you know I have a weakness. Never was man more mistaken in his prognosis than Chauncy Townsends father

(12)

Henry Hare Townsend (1765–1827), a wealthy landowner and radical. For his misapprehension of Southey’s habits, see Southey to Charles Watkin Williams Wynn, 4 November 1818, The Collected Letters of Robert Southey. Part Five, Letter 3204.

when he supposed me to be a water drinker.

I have a proper taste for all pleasant liquors, in their place & season, – from bottled twopenny

(13)

‘Twopenny’ was a pale ale, originally costing 2d. per pint.

in the heat of summer, up to the purest whiskey “unexcised by Kings.”

(14)

Isaac Hawkins Browne (1705–1760; DNB), A Pipe of Tobacco: in Imitation of Six Several Authors (London, 1736), p. 20: ‘Imitation V’, line 20.

– But Rhenish wine

(15)

Sweet white wine from the Rhineland.

is best, & so Pindar

(16)

Pindar (c. 522–c. 443 BC), Olympian 1, line 1, ‘Water is best’.

would have said if he had ever tasted it.

Our love to all – God bless you
RS.

Notes

1. Henry Herbert Southey, Jnr (1822–1829) was born on 6 November 1822.[back]
2. Southey to William Knighton, 25 November 1822, Letter 3922. This asked Knighton to present a copy of the first volume of the History of the Peninsular War (1823–1832) to George IV, to whom it was dedicated.[back]
3. William Haygarth (1784–1825), a poet and travel writer, son of the physician John Haygarth (1740–1827; DNB). Haygarth was a friend of Henry Herbert Southey and had provided Southey with a letter describing the campaign in northern Portugal in 1809; see Southey to Herbert Hill, 31 January 1816, The Collected Letters of Robert Southey. Part Five, Letter 2705.[back]
4. Commissioners on the Public Records of the Kingdom had been periodically appointed since 1800. They had supported plans to publish series such as Statutes of the Realm (1810–1825).[back]
5. Southey’s The Book of the Church (1824).[back]
6. William Gifford, the editor of the Quarterly Review, was ill and there was much speculation over who would succeed him; John Taylor Coleridge did so briefly.[back]
7. John Ireland (1761–1842; DNB), Dean of Westminster 1816–1842. He was a close friend of William Gifford and had been a regular contributor to the Quarterly Review.[back]
8. The review of Byron’s Marino Faliero, Doge of Venice. An Historical Tragedy, in Five Acts. With Notes. The Prophecy of Dante, a Poem (1821) and Sardanapulus, A Tragedy. The Two Foscari, A Tragedy, Cain, A Mystery (1821), Quarterly Review, 27 (July 1822), 476–524, published 23 October 1822, was by Reginald Heber, not John Ireland. It was not the swingeing condemnation that Southey would have liked.[back]
9. Francis Palgrave’s review of the first volume of Lewis Cottingham (1787–1847), Plans, Elevations, Sections, Details and Views of the Magnificent Chapel of King Henry VII at Westminster Abbey Church, with a History of its Foundation &c (1822–1829), Quarterly Review, 27 (July 1822), 308–336 (esp. 310–311), published 23 October 1822, quoting Southey’s A Letter to William Smith, Esq., M. P. (London, 1817), pp. 37–41. Southey suggests that this passage had originated in one censored by Gifford from Southey’s article, ‘Parliamentary Reform’, Quarterly Review, 16 (October 1816), 225–278, published 11 February 1817.[back]
10. The Works of the Right Hon. Sir Chas Hanbury Williams (1822). Charles Hanbury Williams (1708–1759; DNB) was a diplomat and writer. Southey had declined to edit his poems as Williams was ‘not quite so decent as he should be’; see Robert Southey to Charles Danvers, 23 March 1802, The Collected Letters of Robert Southey. Part Two, Letter 664.[back]
11. A small fell north west of Keswick.[back]
12. Henry Hare Townsend (1765–1827), a wealthy landowner and radical. For his misapprehension of Southey’s habits, see Southey to Charles Watkin Williams Wynn, 4 November 1818, The Collected Letters of Robert Southey. Part Five, Letter 3204.[back]
13. ‘Twopenny’ was a pale ale, originally costing 2d. per pint.[back]
14. Isaac Hawkins Browne (1705–1760; DNB), A Pipe of Tobacco: in Imitation of Six Several Authors (London, 1736), p. 20: ‘Imitation V’, line 20.[back]
15. Sweet white wine from the Rhineland.[back]
16. Pindar (c. 522–c. 443 BC), Olympian 1, line 1, ‘Water is best’.[back]
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