Catalog of the Peal Exhibition: Other Romantics and Their Contemporaries

Transcription

1 Th Kntucky Rviw Volum 4 Numbr 1 This issu is dvotd to a catalog of an xhibition from th W. Hugh Pal Collction in th Univrsity of Kntucky Libraris. Articl Catalog of th Pal Exhibition: Othr Romantics and Thir Contmporaris John Spalding Gatton Univrsity of Kntucky Follow this and additional works at: Part of th English Languag and Litratur Commons Click hr to lt us know how accss to this documnt bnfits you. Rcommndd Citation Gatton, John Spalding (1982) "Catalog of th Pal Exhibition: Othr Romantics and Thir Contmporaris," Th Kntucky Rviw: Vol. 4 : No. 1, Articl 9. Availabl at: This Articl is brought to you for fr and opn accss by th Univrsity of Kntucky Libraris at UKnowldg. It has bn accptd for inclusion in Th Kntucky Rviw by an authorizd ditor of UKnowldg. For mor information, plas contact UKnowldg@lsv.uky.du.

2 Othr Romantics and Thir Contmporaris B 80. ROBERT BURNS. A.L.s. to Thomas Whitr, [Octobr 1787]. St to work arly as a farm laborr in his nativ Scotland, Robrt Burns ( ) bcam a skilld ploughman by fiftn. At that ag h also mt "a bwitching cratur" to whos favorit rl h wrot his first lyric. "Thus," h notd, "with m bgan lov and potry," two occupations h ardntly pursud aftr raching maturity. By twnty-svn h had fathrd a numbr of illgitimat childrn and producd much of his bst writing. In 1786, to rais th passag mony for Jamaica, whr mploymnt on a plantation awaitd him, h publishd Poms, Chifly in th Scottish Dialct. Th volum, printd at Kilmarnock, njoyd immdiat succss. Th possibility of a scond dition drw him to Edinburgh whr his charm, convrsation, and conviviality mad him popular in litrary, intllctual, and social circls. This rcption dissuadd him from laving Scotland. William Crch brought out th scond, Edinburgh dition of Poms in Around Octobr 1787, Burns wrot to a Mr. Whytr [sic] "in th littl commrc of kindnss," nclosing a book and his addrss in Edinburgh, "Mr. Cruikshank's, Saint Jams's squar, Nwtown." Burns lodgd with William Cruikshank (d. 1795) and his family from th autumn of 1787 until h lft Edinburgh th following Fbruary. Whil thr Burns trid to collct mony from Crch. Though unqustionably honst, th publishr found parting with any sum so difficult that h postpond it as long as possibl. Burns summd him up in th lins bginning "A littl, upright, prt, tart, tripping wight." Th fiv hundrd pounds h ultimatly rcivd for his Poms nabld him to sttl on a small farm nar Dumfris, and to marry Jan Armour, a formr mistrss. Aftr th farm's failur h bcam an xcisman or tax inspctor. In th last dozn yars of his lif Burns primarily wrot songs, by turns patriotic, amorous, and bawdy in contnt. To this priod blong "0 my Luv's lik a rd, rd ros," "Auld Lang Syn," and "Corning thro' th ry." Dissipation may hav causd th ndocarditis that killd Robrt 76 THE KENTUCKY REVIEW [: 1 d h v p [ L ~ '1 sl it p c c a1 jl 1 0 N tl a 1 P. 1 tl a ir B 7

3 Burns at th ag of thirty-svn. Pal 8, ALLAN CUNNINGHAM. A.L.s. to John Scott, 24 Novmbr [1820]., f A nativ of Dumfrisshir, Scotland, Allan Cunningham ( ) bgan as an apprntic to a stonmason, but from 1814 to his dath h srvd as scrtary to th sculptor Sir Francis Chan try. In his lisur h producd novls, biography, and drama, as wll as vrs in both Scots dialct and standard English. H gaind furthr popularity with his ballads. Cunningham also contributd to Th London Magazin. In th Dcmbr 1820 numbr h bgan a sris of 'Traditional Litratur," dvoting th first articl to a prliminary discussion of "th ancint mpir of oral litratur." On 24 Novmbr 1820 h wrot to John Scott, th magazin's ditor, nclosing "a scond Traditional Litratur' " and proposing a third "of a charactr so strang and romantic" that h must ask Scott's prmission "to rlat it in rhym"; it is "too wild and wondrful for honst historic pros." As th "nights ar favourabl for composition," Cunningham promiss to prpar anothr articl for his corrspondnt. In th manwhil, h sounds out Scott on th accompanying story, as h is "willing to larn and amnabl to th judgmnt of a scholar and gntlman." In th first thr months of 1821 Scott printd "Richard Fauldr of Allanbay," "Rhym Lgnd of Richard Fauldr, Marinr," and 'Tal of Richard Fauldr, Marinr." This sris of 'Traditional Litratur" vntually ran through twlv issus. In 1822 Cunningham publishd Traditional Tals of th English and Scottish Pasantry, which h followd thr yars latr with Th Songs of Scotland. His Livs of th Most Eminnt British Paintrs, Sculptors, and Architcts appard btwn 1829 and Laid down on th top of th lttr is a small fragmnt baring th words "Rl of Bogi." Blow th slip runs th lgnd, 'Th abov is th hand-writing of Robrt Burns-Pot [signd] Allan Cunningham.-" "Th Rls of Bogi," collctd by Burns, was includd in Jams Johnson's Th Scots Musical Musum (1787) and Burns's Mrry Muss-A Choic Collction of Favourit Songs 77 OTHER ROMANTICS

4 From Many Sourcs (prdatd 1827). Pal 11, JOSEPH COTTLE. A.L.s. to John Mathw Gutch, 6 Fbruary Th Bristol booksllr Josph Cottl ( ) publishd Colridg's Poms on Various Subjcts {1796), including four sonnts by Lamb; Southy's pic pom Joan of Arc, accompanid by Colridg's "Th Vision" (1796); and Wordsworth and Colridg's Lyrical Ballads (1798). H himslf wrot Alfrd (1801), an pic in twnty-four books on th ancint king of th Wst Saxons, and Th Fall of Cambria (1807). Through twnty-four lins of English Bards and Scotch Rviwrs (1809) Byron mistaknly ridiculd Josph's potry undr th nam of his brothr Amos ( ). And in his own not to English Bards Byron charactrizd th mn as "onc sllrs of books thy did not writ, and now writrs of books thy do not sll." Josph rplid with An Expostulatory Epistl to Lord Byron in On 6 Fbruary 1844 Cottl nlistd th coopration of John Mathw Gutch, Lamb's schoolmat and somtim ditor of Flix Farmr's Bristol Journal, in th rction of a monumnt to "th lat minntly talntd" Robrt Southy ( ) in th cathdral of his nativ Bristol. As Gutch was "a prsonal Frind of th stimabl Laurat [sic]" and has "always bn an Encouragr of Litratur," Cottl ntrtains th hop that his corrspondnt will "ncourag th undrtaking." Th Bishop of th Diocs, Lord Jffry, and Lord Brougham hav promisd to subscrib. With th approval of Southy's frinds, th Bristol sculptor Edward Hodg Baily ( ) will crat a mmorial that is "ornamntal" to th cathdral and "worthy of th Pot's Nam." Pal 10,877. C< R (1 Ia w p 0 rr o: ir A tl A h c R 83. Sir WALTER SCOTT. Portion of holograph of rviw of Th Cullodn Paprs for Quartrly Rviw, Octobr Sir Waltr Scott ( ) won wid admiration for his vrs romancs, bginning in 1805 with Th Lay of th Last Minstrl, and 78 THE KENTUCKY REVIEW c 7S

5 continuing through Marmion (1808), Th Lady of th Lak (1810), Rokby and Th Bridal of Trirmain (1813), Th Lord of th Isls (1815), to Harold th Dauntlss (1817). In 1813 h dclind th lauratship, succssfully rcommnding Southy for th honor. H was mad a baront svn yars latr. To an xtnt clipsd by Byron in th fild of vrs tals, Scott turnd his hand to historical novls, publishing his first, Wavrly, in Bcaus th gnr was frquntly dnigratd as frivolous, Scott issud his novls anonymously. Although widly known as th crator of Th Hart of Midlothian (1818), Ivanho (1819), and Knilworth (1821), th "Wizard of th North" did not acknowldg thir authorship until 1827, by which tim h had writtn som two dozn books. Scott also producd, ditd, or rviwd a numbr of important historical and litrary pics, oftn for th Tory Quartrly Rviw, whos founding in 1809 h had promotd. Whil procding with Th Antiquary (publishd in 1816), Scott turnd out an articl of almost 24,000 words on Th Cullodn Paprs. Formrly in th possssion of Duncan Forbs of Cullodn, Lord Prsidnt of th Court of Sssi.{>n in Scotland, th documnts includ corrspondnc and occasional stat paprs from th yars 1625 to Only discovrd in quantity in 1812, th Paprs wr publishd in a collctd dition thr yars latr. Th Pal Collction contains twnty-four autograph manuscript pags from th concluding portion of Scott's rviw, printd as th opning articl in th Octobr 1816 issu of th Quartrly. Th manuscript lavs ar numbrd 27, Scott wrot on on sid of th papr, using th vrso of svral shts for additions that h insrtd in th copy on th facing pag. Th txt opns with th flight of th trrifid wif of Stuart of Ardvoirlich, who, on going to plac food bfor th "Childrn of th Mist," saw th had of hr brothr displayd upon th tabl. Among othr vnts and figurs, th manuscript trats of hr husband's rvng, of Glnco, th raising of th standard of th Chvalir, th movmnts of th Clans btwn 1715 and 1745, Rob Roy, and Lord Lovt. Pal 7, THOMAS CAMPBELL. Holograph of addrss to th Alpha Club, n.d. 79 OTHER ROMANTICS

6 Thomas Campbll ( ) scurd immdiat fam with his pom in hroic couplts Th Plasurs of Hop (1799). Addrssing mankind's xpctations for a happir futur, Campbll dalt with topics ranging from fr lov to th abolition of slavry to th libration of Poland (suggstd by Colridg's sonnt on Kosciusko). From th pom com th provrbial quotations, "Lik angl-visits, fw and far btwn," and " Tis distanc lnds nchantmnt to th viw." Grtrud of Wyoming (1809) continud his popularity with its account of Amrican Indians incongruously told in Spnsrian stanzas. His rputation incrasd with th publication of patriotic vrss praising British naval valor. H dismissd as "a mr drum and trumpt thing" his short pom "Hohnlindn" (~802), commmorating th firc battl in Dcmbr 1800 that rsultd in a Frnch victory ovr th Austrians; but it rmains on of th outstanding battl poms in English, with its graphic contrast btwn th purity of th snow-covrd landscap and th bloody, "sulphurous" horror of war. Aftr his war songs mad him clbratd and prosprous, h turnd his attntion to acadmic affairs. In 1825 h proposd th stablishmnt of th Univrsity of London, and th following yar h was lctd Lord Rctor of th univrsity in his nativ Glasgow, a position h hld until With fam cam numrous invitations for lcturs. On on such occasion h addrssd an organizational mting of th Alpha Club. Th Pal Collction houss th fourtn-pag autograph manuscript of Campbll's spch. H bgins by tlling his audinc that sldom in his lif has h bn "mor gratifid than by th complimnt" thy hav paid him by calling him to th chair of this assmbly. H dscribs th "projctd Socity" as blonging not to "th rich mn of this mighty mtropolis," but to "th middling class, who can nithr afford th palac club-houss of lordlings nor condscnd to th gin-palacs of th dstitut," yt who hav "a natural yarning for socity, for convrsation & for th sight of many nwspaprs and many nw books." To this nd h offrs his suggstions on th composition of th club, on "its animal bnfits-on its cratur-comforts as th Puritans phrasd it," and on "its moral and intllctual bnfits." H closs with th "arnst advic" "not to b hurrid in this affair" and to b "spcially dlibrat" in th choic of mmbrs. From collction of Robrt Lvin. Pal 8, THE KENTUCKY REVIEW A T cc in p~ fr at a it~ (1 bi Pc m cc "r hi s h h2 "A in bt fo li A 81

7 85. BARRY CORNWALL [psud. of BRYAN WALLER PROCTER]. A.L.s. to Allan Cunningham, n.d. 86. BARRY CORNWALL. Portion of manuscript of 'Th Tmptation," in th hand of th author's wif. In his long lif Bryan Wallr Proctr ( ) bridgd th Romantics and th Victorians. H attndd Harrow with Byron; hlpd bar th cost of printing Shlly's Posthumous Poms; countd Ligh Hunt, Lamb, Hazlitt, Dickns, and Browning as intimats; and rcivd th homag of Swinburn. Undr th psudonym "Barry Cornwall" (an anagram constructd of lttrs from his givn nam adoptd to protct his rputation as an attorny), h publishd Dramatic Scns (1819); Mirandola (1821), a tragdy succssful at Covnt Gardn lss bcaus of its styl than its thm-a fathr's marriag to his son's btrothd; English Songs (1832), upon which his contmporary rputation rstd; and biographis of Edmund Kan (1835) and Lamb (1866). As a contributor to th annual Th Annivrsary; or, Pros and Potry for 1829, Proctr snt its ditor, Allan Cunningham, th manuscript of a "Dramatic Scn" ntitld "Th Tmptation." In th covr lttr Proctr prays that Cunningham will not rad th "rhodomontad" whn h is "tird with chislling," a rfrnc to his arly lif as a stonmason and his currnt mploymnt as scrtary to th sculptor Francis Chantry. Instad, th author hops his ditor will wait until aftr "ta or coff in th vning" has disposd him "to look at things through an agrabl mdium." "Abov all," Proctr rqusts that Cunningham "admir th industry" of his "amanunsis," Mrs. Proctr (who latr dstroyd a bundl of Lamb's lttrs). Cunningham accptd 'Th Tmptation" for Th Annivrsary, printing it on pags Th Pal Collction contains Proctr's undatd, signd autograph lttr to Cunningham as wll as four of th thirtn manuscript pags, in Mrs. Proctr's hand, that compris "Th Tmptation." Pal 12,938c. 87 BERNARD BARTON. A.L.s. to Ltitia Elizabth Landon, 15 April1823. Aftr brif mploymnt as an apprntic to a shopkpr and as 81 OTHER ROMANTICS

8 a privat tutor, th Quakr pot Brnard Barton ( ) bcam a clrk in th Dyk and Samul Alxandr Bank, in Woodbridg, Suffolk, a position h hld for his rmaining forty yars. Howvr, th monotony of th banking businss and a crtain popularity as a writr ncouragd him to sound out Charls Lamb (also a full-tim businss man) about th wisdom of a carr in potry. "Kp to your bank," Lamb rplid, "and th bank will kp you. Trust not to th public; you may hang, starv, drown yourslf for anything that worthy prsonag cars." Hding this advic, Barton dvotd only his spar tim to writing, in th dcad from 1818 producing ight volums of vrs and occasional pics. Barton carrid on xtnsiv corrspondnc with many of th lading writrs and ditors of th day, but h nvr considrd his own lttrs as litrary productions, trusting in his potry to win him fam. From Woodbridg on 15 April1823 Barton wrot at lngth to th pot and novlist Ltitia Elizabth Landon ( ), who publishd undr th initials L.E.L. (Lamb dclard that if sh blongd to him h would lock hr up, and fd hr on brad and watr till sh lft off writing potry. In his opinion, "a fmal pot, or fmal author of any kind," rankd "blow an actrss.") Sh did mystriously in Wst Africa, prhaps from an accidntal ovrdos of prussic acid, shortly aftr hr marriag. In his lttr to hr Barton rports that John Mitford ( ), clrgyman, pot, and ditor of Gray's potry, has writtn a sonnt about him to call upon "th Sct of Quakrs to plac thir Pot in som mor congnial plac" than Barton's "Clrkly and honorabl confinmnt" in a bank. H longs to har hr opinion of Lamb's Elia ssays, rcntly collctd in a singl volum, and h praiss L.E.L.'s "Dramatic Scns" in th Litrary Gaztt, hr "Mus" bing "on of th chif attractions of th Papr." Barton also says that h has had a lttr from "Elia," writtn th day aftr h had dind with Wordsworth, Colridg, Samul Rogrs, and Thomas Moor. "Such a lttr," for Barton, "was a trat; for it smack' d of th good company its writr had just lft, it was writtn with a vivid rmmbranc of rcnt njoymnt." H closs with th promis to forward "a lss stupid lttr nxt tim," if his prsnt corrspondnc procurs him "th favor of a rply." Pal, 8,505b. 82 THE KENTUCKY REVIEW 0 N m p< G p< h< br in ru to ar d TJ h GJ 19 s' rj as di: hi: "T P ffi( Ra th to igr of C!i in p: ]U< yo la 83

9 88. GEORGE CRABBE. A.L.s. to unnamd corrspondnt, 5 Octobr d r ~ r In Byron's stimation, Gorg Crabb ( ), "though Natur's strnst paintr" was "yt th bst." Aftr a brif carr in mdicin, Crabb took ordrs in 1781, subsquntly holding various positions as a country curat. Th disgust h flt upon rading Goldsmith's Th Dsrtd Villag dtrmind th dirction of his potic talnts, prviously spnt on unsuccssful works. Th idal happinss of Goldsmith's Auburn bor littl rsmblanc to th brutality and squalor Crabb had witnssd in his nativ Aldburgh in Suffolk. To giv what h considrd a mor accurat pictur of rural lif h wrot Th Villag (1783). In sombr tons h dpicts a town lacking in pastoral glamor, rplt with povrty, suffring, and coarsnss. Goldsmith's pictursqu schoolmastr and worthy clric giv plac to Crabb's mdical quack and "sporting parson." Th Borough (1810) again disscts lif in Aldburgh in twnty-four hroic-couplt lttrs. Th story of th sadistic fishrman Ptr Grims providd Bnjamin Brittn with th plot for his opra of Crabb's contmporary fam insurd that fldgling pots would sk his advic on thir amatur fforts. On 5 Octobr 1822 Crabb rplid to on such writr from Trowbridg, whr h had srvd as vicar for ight yars and would rmain until his dath. In disintrstd languag Crabb stats at th outst that in his opinion his unnamd corrspondnt's poms ar not "fittd for publication." 'Thy want Narrativ to fix th Radrs [sic] Attntion and Prspicuity to prvnt his having Troubl in Comprhnding" th maning. By comparison, Scott, Byron, Moor, "and all th prsnt Rac of Pots" possss "Narrativ and Charactr without which... th most bautiful Composition would rmain unnoticd." If Crabb knw mor about his corrspondnt h "might vntur to say somwhat mor on th Subjct" bfor thm, but whn ignorant of "a Writrs [sic] Tim of Lif" and "th particular Objct of his Wishs," h dos not know how to addrss th aspiring pot. Crabb thrfor can offr no advic about th pursuit of a carr in lttrs. But h dos not "scrupl" to stat that if th writr prsists, h has "much to do." Th individual rmains "th bst Judg" in this mattr. Although "afraid to damp th Ardour of a young pot," Crabb at th sam tim rmmbrs "th Failur of at last an qual Numbr, who had nvrthlss vry considrabl 83 OTHER ROMANTICS

10 mrit." This ralization kps him "suspndd" in his judgmnt and "undcidd in all Things" xcpt his "good wishs." Pal 8, THOMAS DE QUINCEY. A.L.s. to John Taylor, 8 Dcmbr Thomas D Quincy ( ) dmonstratd arly th brillianc and instability that markd his lif. At svntn h ran away from th grammar school in his nativ Manchstr, wandrd through Wals, and livd a hand-to-mouth xistnc in London. Discovrd a yar latr by his guardians, h ntrd Worcstr Collg, Oxford. Whil at univrsity h suffrd attacks of nuralgia and "gnawing pains" in his stomach, possibly ulcrs, and in 1804 h first sought rlif with opium, in th liquid form of laudanum. During absncs from collg h bcam an intimat of Colridg and Wordsworth. H lft Oxford prmanntly in 1808 without taking a dgr. Th following yar h lasd Dov Cottag, whr Wordsworth had livd, and rmaind in Grasmr until1820, rading, studying, marrying, starting a family, and struggling against opium addiction. At thirty-fiv D Quincy bgan his litrary carr. For th priodicals h producd biography, history, criticism, mtaphysics, rhtorical analysis, political conomy, and imaginativ pros. In 1821 h publishd in Th London Magazin th autobiographical Confssions of an English Opium-Eatr, which h rvisd and nlargd in 1822 and Its ornat pros styl brought him immdiat fam. D Quincy mployd a wid varity of rhtorical dvics to achiv harmony and splndor in languag. Priodic sntncs, with xtndd parnthss and convolutions, build to cadncd conclusions. Allusions, figurs of spch, prsonifications, and apostrophs contribut to th motional ffcts. On 8 Dcmbr 1821 D Quincy wrot to John Taylor, who with his partnr Jams Hssy had bought Th London Magazin in April and had publishd Opium-Eatr. D Quincy has contractd crtain dbts-on, for , du that day-which h hops Taylor will discharg for him. A scond dmand coms to , but as D Quincy rfuss to "acknowldg" a dbt for that sum, h wishs Taylor to pay only four pounds (if it "suits" him "to pay any part of it"). By Monday h will hav "found th ral amount of 84 THE KENTUCKY REVIEW ap plc: the Blc "0 18: (N, ani 18~ by Qu Ma aw ad~ Cht dit six Byr sou th E xp' th Eng Str con Ma, Byr his J yaz wh prc 85

11 d d th dbt." Suspira d Profundis, D Quincy's squl to Opium-Eatr, appard originally in Blackwood's Magazin in His projctd plan for this unfinishd work lists som thirty sctions, including th lngthy thr-part ssay "Th English Mail-Coach," printd in Blackwood's in Critical insights flash forth in such ssays as "On th Knocking at th Gat in Macbth" (London Magazin,. 1823) and "Litratur of Knowldg and Litratur of Powr" (North British Rviw, 1848). Extravagant, vn macabr satir animats Murdr Considrd as On of th Fin Arts (1827; 1839; 1854), on of his mor succssful xcursions into humor, inspird by a sris of murdrs committd in Thirty-ight yars aftr writing to Taylor, 8 Dcmbr 1859, D Quincy did, not from th ffcts of taking drugs, but of old ag. Pal11, GEORGE GORDON, Lord BYRON. A.L.s. to [Elizabth Massingbrd], 16 July s, :al 1S, in d J, '~Y of By his own account Gorg Gordon, Lord Byron ( ) awok on morning in 1812 and found himslf famous. Th advanc xcitmnt surrounding th publication on 12 March of Child Harold's Pilgrimag, Cantos I and II, sold out th first dition of fiv hundrd copis in thr days; sals rachd 4500 in six months. Told that his "rhyms" wr also popular in Amrica, Byron nthusiastically rplid, 'Ths ar th first tidings that vr soundd lik Fam to my ars-to b rdd [sic] on th banks of th Ohio!" Byron basd many of th pisods in Child Harold on his xprincs during a two-yar tour of th Mditrranan lands and th Nar East. On 16 July 1811, two days aftr his rturn to England, h wrot from his rsidnc at Rddish's Hotl, St. Jams's Strf London, to an unnamd woman about crtain financial concrns. His corrspondnt was surly Mrs. Elizabth Massingbrd, with whom h had had such dalings for som tim. Byron first mt Mrs. Massingbrd and hr daughtr in 1802 whn his mothr rntd rooms from thm in Piccadilly. In subsqunt yars h too lodgd in thir hom on visits to th city. In 1806, whn xtravagant living lft him short of funds, and youth prcludd his borrowing mony on his own signatur, h askd his 85 OTHER ROMANTICS

12 half-sistr Augusta to sign as collatral guarantor for a loan from a mony lndr. Hr failur to assist him causd him to turn to Mrs. Massingbrd, who, knowldgabl about such transactions, procurd th ndd funds. For th nxt fw yars th Massingbrds continud to act as Byron's mdiators and scurity with th usurrs, until his dbts amountd to som nin or tn thousand pounds at th tim of his Eastrn travls. In 1811, whil Byron waitd in Malta for a ship on his journy hom, a crditor namd Jons had th Massingbrds arrstd and hld in a "spunging hous," whr dbtors wr dtaind at thir own xpns whil trying to rais mony bfor imprisonmnt. In th first lttr on display Byron assurs Mrs. Massingbrd that h has rturnd to England to arrang "th businss" of "th annuitis." H intnds to discharg hr from hr "rsponsibility" and prvnt hr from bing "furthr molstd" if th mony lndr Mr. Howard "will rmain quit for a short tim." Othrwis, Byron will b "undr th ncssity of bringing th whol bfor a Court." Whn Mrs. Massingbrd did in Octobr 1812, sh lft hr daughtr to sort out a tangl of hr own dbts and hr liability for th loans sh had rashly guarantd for Byron. To his crdit, Byron mad numrous paymnts to Miss Massingbrd, and although sh misapplid ths monys, h rpaid mor than th principal and th whol lgal intrst on th sum sh had hlpd provid. Formrly in th collctions of John Kbabian and Robrt Lvin. Pal 8, GEORGE GORDON, Lord BYRON. A.L.s. to Richard Blgrav Hoppnr, 7 Dcmbr Whn Sir Waltr Scott turnd to fiction, Byron bcam his succssor as th popular writr of romanc tals in vrs with his Eastrn narrativ poms, including Th Brid of Abydos (1813) and Th Corsair (1814). During voluntary xil in Italy ( ;3) aftr sparation from his wif, Byron producd such works as Manfrd (1817); his unfinishd comic pic Don Juan ( ), with its rfrncs to Danil Boon, "back-woodsman of Kntucky"; and Cain (1821). Howvr, affairs of an amatory rathr than a litrary natur promptd th scond 1;3yron lttr in th Pal Collction. On 7 Dcmbr 1819, Byron was living at th Palazzo Mocnigo on 86 THE KENTUCKY REVIEW y, c nc ht x ac m sis th B> d Gt di! thf M, a I Ra Gr h in lik T. wr H rt M: Go 1 By! inf) Coi rna ra. 87

13 a s. ds rs, t y n lr ron t." or rron th l is and aftr?d i Vnic's Grand Canal. In April h had bgun an affair with Countss Trsa Guiccioli, th nintn-yar-old wif of a noblman thr tims hr ag. With hr rmoval to Ravnna by hr husband in Novmbr, Byron rsolvd to rturn to his nativ land, xplaining to his frind Douglas Kinnaird, "As I lft England on account of my own wif-i now quit Italy for th wif of anothr." But Byron ultimatly nvr mad th journy. First, Allgra (his illgitimat daughtr by Clair Clairmont, Mary Shlly's halfsistr) caught a fvr in Vnic, forcing postponmnt until at last th spring. Thn Trsa fll ill, prhaps psychosomatically, and Byron, in rply to a lttr from hr fathr lat in Novmbr, dtrmind to mov to Ravnna to b nar hr. On 7 Dcmbr h wrot twic to his frind and th Consul Gnral in Vnic, Richard Blgrav Hoppnr, instructing him to discharg a varity of Byron's financial obligations in th city. In th shortr lttr, Byron asks Hoppnr "to inform Madam Mocnigo," his landlady, of possibl "collusion" and misconduct by a Mr. Gnoatto. Two wks latr, Byron and Allgra dpartd for Ravnna, arriving on Christmas Ev, Evr a champion of librty, Byron saild in 1823 to join th Grk insurgnts opposing Turkish domination. On 19 April 1824 h did of a fvr at Missolonghi, Grc. Allan Cunningham notd in Th London Magazin that Byron's dath "cam upon London lik an arthquak." At Somrsby in Lincolnshir, th young Tnnyson disconsolatly wrot on a rock simply "Byron is dad," whil th aging Scott flt "almost as if th grat luminary of Havn had suddnly disappard hom th sky." Th body was rturnd to England for burial nar th family stat at Nwstad; Mary Shlly watchd as th hars passd hr hous in London. Pal 10, PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY. Portion of A.L.s. to William Godwin, 7 January In 1810, as a studnt at Univrsity Collg, Oxford, Prcy Byssh Shlly ( ) cam undr th intllctual and moral influnc of William Godwin through his rading of An Enquiry Concrning Political Justic (1793). Thrin, Godwin propoundd man's innat goodnss, th ssntial corruption of institutions, rason as th sol arbitr of conduct, th doctrin of 87 OTHER ROMANTICS

14 n y at! no Sh Gc rai!at me Gc ins as lt Gc COl rc wr nt tot of pr Sh1 18J cor Shlly to William Godwin, his futur fathr-in-law (itm 92) 88 THE KENTUCKY REVIEW phi rli ShE apr sug 12 Sv dis; 1 Sh hac tim 1 incl 89

15 ncssitarianism, and a blif in th prfctibility of mankind. Two yars latr, aftr xpulsion from Oxford for his tract advocating athism (1811), Shlly first wrot to Godwin. Th philosophr and novlist rspondd and maintaind a brisk corrspondnc with Shlly for many yars. As Shlly soon discovrd, srious financial difficultis plagud Godwin, and in May 1814 h attmptd to hlp his corrspond~nt rais th funds ncssary to mt his obligations. Thr months latr, his lopmnt with Godwin's daughtr Mary strangd th mn, but did not prvnt Godwin from accpting Shlly's mony. Godwin onc shamlssly rturnd Shlly's chck with th instruction that it b mad payabl to a nam othr than his own, as h did not want it known that Shlly was assisting him. Thir lttrs during this priod trat wholly of montary mattrs; whras Godwin's corrspondnc has an insolnt ton, Shlly's rmains courtous and forbaring. His marriag to Mary in Dcmbr 1816 rconcild thm. On 7 January 1816 (not 1815, as h misdatd th lttr), Shlly wrot to Godwin from his hous at Bishopsgat, on of th astrn ntrancs to th Grat Park of Windsor. Rturning to a mattr h touchd on in his scond lttr to Godwin, Shlly givs "a history of th procdings" btwn himslf and his fathr, rlativ to his prospcts from th family stats. (His grandfathr, Sir Byssh Shlly, a nativ of Nwark, Nw Jrsy, had did in January 1815.) Shlly dmonstrats by th way a rmarkabl capacity to comprhnd and xplain complicatd financial transactions. H thn coms logically to Godwin's own dmands. Th phrasing indicats that Godwin hld Shlly "spcially bound" to rliv him of crtain "incumbrancs." Politly but pointdly Shlly parris with a rluctanc to prsuad Godwin "to sll th approbation" of his frinds to rais th dsird capital. Instad, h suggsts that Godwin approach "som wll wishrs" for th loan of 1200 "on scurity which thy might considr unxcptionabl." Svral lins latr th lttr braks off, th rmaindr having disappard som tim in th nintnth cntury. With th ralization that h could not ras Godwin's dbts, Shlly rfusd him furthr aid from August 1820, by which dat h had alrady dlivrd upwards of 5000, which had cost him four tims that amount to rais. In that priod Shlly also composd most of his grat potry, including Alastor, "Mont Blanc," "Hymn to Intllctual Bauty" 89 OTHER ROMANTICS

16 (1816); Julian and Maddalo, "Lins Writtn among th Eugnan Hills" (1818); Promthus Unbound ( ); and Th Cnci (1819). Ahad wr Epipsychidion, "A Dfns of Potry," and Adonais, his lgy for Kats (1821). At Pisa Shlly and Byron dtrmind to stablish Th Libral, a journal of protst and nlightnmnt, and Shlly invitd Ligh Hunt to join thm as its ditor. Hunt arrivd in July Sailing homward in his boat aftr a visit to Hunt on 8 July 1822, Shlly ncountrd a storm and drownd. His body was crmatd on th bach in th prsnc of Trlawny, Byron, and Hunt, and th ashs burid in th Protstant Cmtry, Rom, nar th grav of Kats. From th collction of Hrman T. Radin. Pal 10, WILLIAM LISLE BOWLES. A.L.s. to Lord Krry, [18347]. William Lisl Bowls ( ), country parson and potastr, srvd as vicar of Brmhill, Wiltshir, from 1804 to his dath. H was also a canon at Salisbury, whr h rportdly masurd th distanc btwn his prbndal hous and th cathdral to dtrmin whthr h would b in dangr if th spir fll. In 1789 h publishd Fourtn Sonnts, th first of any mrit that had appard for som tim. Though lacking in profundity of thought, thy displayd simpl diction, pur form, and snsitiv obsrvation. Colridg rspondd to Bowls's sincr natur potry, dvoid of fashionabl artific, by writing his own sonnts. H also mad numrous manuscript copis of Bowls's vrss for his frinds. At th ag of nintn Southy, too, cam undr Bowls's influnc, possibly introducd to th vicar's work during his first mting with Colridg in Jun Th sonnts Southy had printd in th autumn of that yar (although th imprint rads 1795) show a markd indbtdnss to Bowls. Long aftrwards Southy acknowldgd that h had ndavord to modl his own styl on that of Bowls. At sixty-fiv Southy marrid Bowls's cousin Carolin, with whom h had corrspondd for two dcads. In 1806 Bowls publishd a tn-volum dition of Alxandr Pop's works, in which h criticizd Pop's charactr as a man and as a pot. A controvrsy startd in 1819 btwn Bowls and Thomas Campbll and othrs ovr ths commnts. Byron, who rvrd Pop as "th most faultlss of Pots, and almost of mn," 90 THE KENTUCKY REVIEW j< t} n p p s p a1 if T aj CC D l\1, AI. in w ol 0 Pc Li de 1E sc Ir V< 91

17 s ar r, joind in th fray with his Lttr to **** ****** [John Murray], on th Rv. W.L. Bowls' Stricturs on th Lif and Writings of Pop, which Murray publishd as a pamphlt in Bowls rplid with two lttrs and Byron with a scond, which h withhld upon rcipt of good-humord corrspondnc from Bowls. Bowls also dirctd a light-hartd lttr to on of his parishionrs, Lord Krry. 'Th old vicar," as h styls himslf, plans to prach th following Sunday for "th Church-building Socity." Wr Lady Krry to "hold th plat of Charity for Purposs of tru Pity," "th favour would b vr rmmbrd" and th gstur would b "appropriat, in ths days, of obloquy." Bowls probably wrot this lttr in 1834, for h asks Lord Krry if h has rad "Crabb's Lif." That yar John Murray publishd Th Potical Works of th Rv. Gorg Crabb: With... His Lif, ditd by his son. Th ight-volum work is inscribd to 'Th Rv. W.L. Bowls, Canon of Salisbury, &c. &c. &c.," with "Gratful and Affctionat Rspct." Bowls wondrs in closing if h should considr himslf "a grat Man bing so distinguishd in th Ddication." Pal 11,286. that try, so 's t s. md 94. THOMAS MOORE. A.L.s. to William Lisl Bowls, n.d. Whil a studnt at Trinity Collg in his nativ Dublin, Thomas Moor ( ) translatd into English vrs th Ods of Anacron. Whn profssors mt his accomplishmnt with indiffrnc, h dnouncd thm as "a corporation of boobis, without vn sns nough to thank Havn for anything lik an ffort of litratur coming out of thir ladn body." Within a yar of his arrival in London to study law, Moor had publishd th Ods undr th patronag of th Princ Rgnt. In 1801 h issud Poms, a volum of rotic vrs, using th psudonym 'Thomas Littl," a punning rfrnc to his diminutiv statur. Th skillful dlgation of authority allowd him to parlay his appointmnt in 1803 as admiralty rgistrar in Brmuda into a fourtn-month sojourn in Amrica and Canada. Onc back in England Moor stablishd his rputation with Irish lyrics and Orintal romancs. Th publication of svral volums of Irish Mlodis btwn 1807 and 1834 mad Moor th national pot of Irland and arnd him Shlly's prais in Adonais 91 OTHER ROMANTICS

18 as 'Th swtst lyrist" of that country's "saddst wrong." English as wll as Irish audincs sang and sighd thir way through such wistful lyrics as "Bliv M, If All Thos Endaring Young Charms" and 'Th Last Ros of Summr." Evn mor patriotic vrss lik "Th Minstrl Boy," "Th Harp That Onc through Tara's Halls," and "Oh Brath Not His Nam" (on th xcutd Robrt Emmt) appald to both sids of th Irish Sa, as Moor calld for no Irish rbllion but mrly voicd sntimntal complaints offnsiv to no on. His vrs romanc Lalla Rookh (1817), which Lady Holland's malapropism christnd "Larry O'Rourk," wnt through six ditions in as many months. Moor also provd adpt at biography. As Byron's litrary xcutor h chos to dstroy Byron's autobiography and to writ his own lif of Byron, publishd in H also producd th valuabl Mmoirs of th Lif of th Right Honourabl Richard Brinsly Shridan, th Irish dramatist and thatr managr (1825). In a lttr from th Pal Collction Moor nthusiastically informd William Lisl Bowls that a scond dition of th Shridan biography was "so urgntly wantd" that th publishr was going to prss th following Monday morning with "hands nough to print two Octavo volums togthr." Such succss wnt "far byond" what h had "xpctd." A third dition also cam out in Blow Moor's signatur appars a notation idntifying th book on Shridan and signd "W. Linly." William Linly's sistr Elizabth, a popular concrt singr, was marrid to Shridan from 1773 until hr dath in From Linly, whom h mt in 1818, Moor acquird crtain of his information for th biography. Pal 13,232. "! a m 0 sc fr Ia dt su 01 dt fo vc pr ar "Q an Cl hi! th: qu m< 95. THOMAS HOOD. Portion of holograph of "Mr. Chubb: A Piscatory Romanc." A prominnt litrary figur in his day, Thomas Hood ( ) w.as a man of many parts: pot, storytllr, dramatist, novlist, ngravr, and ditor. Circumstancs, h onc xplaind, had forcd him to bcom "a livly Hood for a livlihood." In his twntis initially a writr of lyrical romantic vrs in th Katsian vin, Hood subsquntly stablishd himslf as a comic pot, his works, lik his convrsation, frquntly nlivnd by puns (as in 92 THE KENTUCKY REVIEW bu Ad COl fll d pal ad1 93

19 sh h ). d lg in ook >m 3, "Miss Killmansgg and Hr Prcious Lg"). H also arnd fam as a pot of social protst, notably with "Th Song of th Shirt," his most popular pom, condmning th intolrabl working conditions of London samstrsss, and "Th Bridg of Sighs," attacking th social systm that drov a povrty-strickn woman to suicid. Ths and numrous othr projcts issud from a man plagud from his youth by chronic ill halth and in constant pain during th last svn or ight yars of his lif. Lik Kats, Hood in his firial dcad xpctoratd considrabl quantitis of blood, although h suffrd from svr pulmonary dma rathr than "consumption" or tubrculosis, as nintnth-cntury accounts claimd. Partial dafnss and circulatory complaints compoundd his difficultis. In 1843 th publishr Hnry Colburn ngagd to publish in book form Hood's contributions to th Nw Monthly Magazin. Th two volums of Whimsicalitis, datd 1844, in fact appard th prvious Dcmbr. Thy containd on or two additional pics and illustrations by Hood and John Lch. Among th pros slctions is "Mr. Chubb: A Piscatory Romanc," with its rough-and-tumbl vnts and physical humor. Th Pal Collction contains th unsignd first pag of th "Chubb" manuscript in Hood's hand. Thr vrs statmnts on angling prcd th opning sction of Chaptr I, outlining Mr. Chubb's addiction to th sport: "H had nvr fishd but onc in his lif-on a chanc holiday, & thn caught but on bram,-but that onc sufficd to attach him to th pastim; it was so still, so quit, so lonly; th vry thing for a shy, bashful, nrvous man... " Pal 13, JAMES HENRY LEIGH HUNT. A.L.s. to Samul Cartr Hall, 22 April18--. l, is.n To countlss adults, Jams Hnry Ligh Hunt ( ) wrot but on pom, that st pic of studnt rcitation, "Abou Bn Adhm" (1834). Whil rsponsibl for mor significant contributions to litratur, Hunt, lik his potic cration, lovd his fllow mn. Th son of a Quakrss from Philadlphia and a clrgyman, h grw up in a humanitarian atmosphr. Through th pags of th libral Examinr which h foundd in 1808, Hunt advocatd th abolition of slavry and child labor, rligious 93 OTHER ROMANTICS

20 tolration, and gratr political quality. An attack on th dissolut Princ Rgnt as a fat "Adonis of fifty" arnd him a two-yar prison sntnc ( ), during which h rcivd family and frinds (including Byron, Moor, and Lamb), continud to dit his wkly nwspapr, and translatd Italian potry, in a room h had wallpaprd. to rsmbl a ros-bowr. Othr journalistic assignmnts followd his rlas. H ditd and contributd to a litrary wkly, Th Indicator, from 1819 to A yar latr h joind Byron and Shlly in Italy on th short-livd quartrly Th Libral. In August 1822, shortly aftr his arrival, Hunt, in th company of Byron and Trlawny, witnssd th crmation of Shlly's body. On of th first to rcogniz th gnius of Kats and Shlly, Hunt hlpd found thir rputations by publishing svral of thir arly pics and favorably rviwing othrs. His own potry njoyd a crtain notority. Th Story of Rimini (1816), basd on Dant's account of th lovrs Paolo and Francsca, vidncs th colloquial styl h hlpd introduc into potry. Blackwood's Magazin attackd Hunt and this idiom in a sris of articls on "Th Cockny School of Potry." His ton and us of th loos flowing couplt strongly influncd Kats's Endymion and Shlly's Julian and Maddalo. Dickns usd Hunt as th modl for Harold Skimpol in Blak Hous (1852). Hunt is also rmmbrd for his pros. Lord Byron and Som of His Contmporaris (1828) angrd many of his frinds bcaus of its lack of proprity and its rcriminations against Byron, dad four yars. In Th Indicator, and lswhr, h publishd numrous familiar ssays, on such topics as "Gtting Up on a Cold Morning," "Daths of Littl Childrn" and "Th Old Gntlman." In "What Is Potry?" (1844) h popularizd th romantic thory of th gnr. His Autobiography (1850) contains rvaling pn-portraits of th English litrary world in th first half of th nintnth cntury. Dspit this productivity, a lttr of 22 April, writtn during his days on Th Indicator, finds Hunt ovrcoming a priod of writr's block. H confsss to his corrspondnt, Samul Cartr Hall, "I nvr flt myslf so much puzzld in my lif to fill up half a pag, as on this occasion; & why it is I know not,-xcpt that I hav so much to do & to prplx m." As a tst, h has "forcd" himslf "to indulg... in writing som vrss, to s if thy would do"; but having finishd thm, h dos not know "whthr thy ar good or not, or whthr it is politic" to put his nam to thm. All h can 94 THE KENTUCKY REVIEW

21 olut d his had say is "that thy ar in arnst." Howvr, a lttr approving of Th Indicator has "highly fortifid" him. H also promiss to rturn th proofs so his corrspondnt may forward thm to Mr. Bntly, th publishr. Pal 13,516. d to his d ' ir n on ly's ld of of four ing," at Is. h 5 his tr's "I 1g, r so If "to IUt td or ~n 97. MARY GODWIN SHELLEY. A.L.s. to Charls Oilir, [15 March 18317] 0 Mary Shlly ( ) was th talntd daughtr of rmarkabl parnts and th wif of an idalistic pot. Hr fathr was th philosophr and novlist William Godwin, hr mothr Mary Wollstoncraft, th first grat fminist in England and th author of Vindication of th Rights of Womn (1792). Mrs. Godwin did a fw days aftr giving birth to Mary. In 1814 sh lopd to th Continnt with Prcy Byssh Shlly and marrid him two yars latr, following th suicid of his first wif, Harrit Wstbrook. Rturning to England aftr Shlly's dath, sh st about diting his works, printing many prviously unpublishd poms, and providing valuabl nots. Mary Shlly contributd significantly to English lttrs with hr novls. During th summr of 1816 th Shllys frquntly visitd Byron and his physician Polidori in Gnva. Aftr a rading of ghost storis, ach prson trid to writ a tal of horror. Mary producd Franknstin; or, Th Modrn Promthus, publishd in Th advnturs of th sol survivor of a dvastating plagu that has xtrminatd mankind by th yar 2073 provids th thm for Th Last Man (1826). Hr autobiographical Lodor cam out in Edward John Trlawny ( ) suprvisd th crmation of Shlly's rmains on th bach of th Bay of Spzzia in August 1822 in th prsnt of Byron and Ligh Hunt. In a lttr probably writtn on 15 March 1831 to th publishr Charls Oilir Mrs. Shlly asks for an appointmnt to discuss "Mr. Trlawny's MS," doubtlss Th Advnturs of a Youngr Son, publishd in 1831 by Hnry Colburn and Richard Bntly. In this largly fictionalizd account of his lif, Trlawny rangd from India to Zanzibar and th East Indis, as a frbootr undr th pirat ladr D Ruytr. Trlawny's Rcollctions of th Last Days of Shlly and Byron did not appar until OTHER ROMANTICS

22 Alluding on anothr occasion to Thomas Hop's novl Anastasius; or, Mmoirs of a Grk (1819), about a picarsqu soldir of fortun, Mary Shlly dscribd Trlawny as "a kind of half-arab Englishman, whos lif has bn as changful as that of Anastasius, and who rcounts th advnturs of his youth as loquntly and wll as th imagind Grk." From th collction of Hrman T. Radin. Pal10,577a. 96 THE KENTUCKY REVIEW