Works of Charles and Mary Lamb. VI-VII. Letters
Charles Lamb to Thomas Manning, April 1801
I WAS not aware that you owed me anything beside
that guinea; but I dare say you are right. I live at No. 16 Mitre-court
Buildings, a pistol-shot off Baron
Maseres’. You must introduce ![]()
| 218 | LETTERS OF C. AND M. LAMB | April |
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me to the Baron. I think we should suit one another mainly. He lives on the
ground floor for convenience of the gout; I prefer the attic story for the air!
He keeps three footmen and two maids; I have neither maid nor laundress, not
caring to be troubled with them! His forte, I understand, is the higher
mathematics; my turn, I confess, is more to poetry and the belles lettres. The
very antithesis of our characters would make up a harmony. You must bring the
baron and me together.—N.B. when you come to see me, mount up to the top of the
stairs—I hope you are not asthmatical—and come in flannel, for it’s pure
airy up there. And bring your glass, and I will shew you the Surrey Hills. My
bed faces the river so as by perking up upon my haunches, and supporting my
carcase with my elbows, without much wrying my neck, can see the white sails
glide by the bottom of the King’s Bench walks as I lie in my bed. An
excellent tiptoe prospect in the best room: casement windows with small panes,
to look more like a cottage. Mind, I have got no bed for you, that’s
flat; sold it to pay expenses of moving. The very bed on which Manning lay—the friendly, the mathematical
Manning! How forcibly does it remind me of the
interesting Otway! “The very
bed which on thy marriage night gave thee into the arms of Belvidera, by the coarse hands of
ruffians—” (upholsterers’ men,) &c. My tears will not
give me leave to go on. But a bed I will get you, Manning,
on condition you will be my day-guest.
I have been ill more than month, with a bad cold, which
comes upon me (like a murderer’s conscience) about midnight, and vexes me
for many hours. I have successively been drugged with Spanish licorice, opium,
ipecacuanha, paregoric, and tincture of foxglove (tinctura purpuræ
digitalis of the ancients). I am afraid I must leave off
drinking.
Thomas Manning (1772-1840)
Educated at Caius College, Cambridge, he traveled in China and Tibet, and was a life-long
friend of Charles Lamb.
Francis Maseres (1731-1824)
Educated at Clare College, Cambridge, he was a wealthy lawyer, administrator in Canada,
and prolific writer.
Thomas Otway (1652-1685)
English tragic poet; author of
The Orphan (1680) and
Venice Preserved (1682).
