“. . . . . If egotism* in poetry be a sin, God forgive all great poets! But perhaps it is allowable in them, when they have been dead a few centuries; and therefore they may be permitted to speak of themselves and appreciate themselves, provided they leave especial
* This refers to some observations which had been made upon the Proem to the marriage song for the Princess Charlotte. |
| 184 | LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE | Ætat. 42. |
“My spirits do not recover: that they should again be
what they have been, I do not expect,—that, indeed, is impossible. But,
except when reading or writing, I am deplorably depressed: the worst is, that I
cannot conceal this. To affect anything like my old hilarity, and that presence
of joyous feelings which carried with it a sort of perpetual sunshine, is, of
course, impossible; but you must imagine that the absence of all this must make
itself felt. The change in my daily occupations, in my sports, my relaxations,
| Ætat. 42. | OF ROBERT SOUTHEY. | 185 |
“I will have the books bound separately, because a book is a book, and two books are worth as much again as one; and if a man’s library comes to the hammer, this is of consequence; and whenever I get my knock-down blow, the poor books will be knocked down after me. But why did I touch upon this string? Alas! Grosvenor, it is because all things bear upon one subject, the centre of the whole circumference of all my natural associations
“God bless you!
