Works of Charles and Mary Lamb. VI-VII. Letters
Charles Lamb to Robert Southey, 8 November 1798
I DO not know that I much prefer this Eclogue [Lamb
has received ‘The Last of the
Flock’] to the last [‘The Wedding’]; both are inferior to
the former [‘The Ruined
Cottage’].
“And when he came to shake me by the hand, And spake as kindly to me as he used, I hardly knew his voice—” |
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is the only passage that affected me.
Servants speak, and their language ought to be plain, and
not much raised above the common, else I should find fault with the bathos of
this passage:
“And when I heard the bell strike out, I thought (what?) that I had never heard it toll So dismally before.” |
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I like the destruction of the martens’ old nests
hugely, having just such a circumstance in my memory.1
I should be very glad to see your remaining Eclogue, if not too much trouble,
as you give me reason to expect it will be the second best.
I perfectly accord with your opinion of old Wither. Quarles is a wittier writer, but Wither
lays more hold of the heart. Quarles thinks of his
audience when he lectures; Wither soliloquises in company
with a full heart. What wretched stuff are the “Divine Fancies” of
Quarles! Religion appears to him no longer valuable
than it furnishes matter for quibbles and riddles; he turns God’s grace
into wantonness. Wither is like an old friend, whose
warm-heartedness and estimable qualities make us wish he possessed more genius,
but at the same time make us willing to dispense with that want. I always love
W., and sometimes admire Q. Still
that
1 [The destruction of the martens’ nests,
in “The Last of the
Family,” runs thus:— I remember, Eight months ago, when the young Squire began To alter the old mansion, they destroy’d The martins’ nests, that had stood undisturb’d Under that roof, . . . ay! long before my memory, I shook my head at seeing it, and thought No good could follow.] |
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| 130 | LETTERS OF C. AND M. LAMB | Nov. |
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portrait poem is a fine one;
and the extract from “The
Shepherds’ Hunting” places him in a starry height far
above Quarles. If you wrote that review in “Crit. Rev.,” I am sorry you are so sparing
of praise to the “Ancient
Marinere;”—so far from calling it, as you do, with some wit,
but more severity, “A Dutch Attempt,” &c., I call it a
right English attempt, and a successful one, to dethrone German sublimity. You
have selected a passage fertile in unmeaning miracles, but have passed by fifty
passages as miraculous as the miracles they celebrate. I never so deeply felt
the pathetic as in that part, “A spring of love gush’d from my heart, And I bless’d them unaware—” |
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It stung me into high pleasure through sufferings. Lloyd does not like it; his head is too
metaphysical, and your taste too correct; at least I must allege something
against you both, to excuse my own dotage— “So lonely ’twas, that God himself Scarce seemed there to be!”—&c., &c.
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But you allow some elaborate beauties—you should have extracted ’em.
“The Ancient Marinere” plays more
tricks with the mind than that last poem, which is yet one of the
finest written. But I am getting too dogmatical; and before I degenerate into
abuse, I will conclude with assuring you that I am
Sincerely yours,
C. Lamb.
I am going to meet Lloyd at Ware on Saturday, to return on Sunday. Have you
any commands or commendations to the metaphysician? I shall be very happy
if you will dine or spend any time with me in your way through the great
ugly city; but I know you have other ties upon you in these parts.
Love and respects to Edith, and friendly remembrances to Cottle.
Joseph Cottle (1770-1853)
Bristol bookseller and poet; he published the
Lyrical Ballads,
several heroic poems that attracted Byron's derision, and
Early
Recollections, chiefly relating to the late Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 2 vols
(1837).
Charles Lloyd (1775-1839)
Quaker poet; a disciple of Coleridge and friend of Charles Lamb, he published
Poetical Essays on the Character of Pope (1821) and other
volumes.
Francis Quarles (1592-1644)
English poet and royalist whose
Emblems (1635) were long
reprinted.
Edith Southey [née Fricker] (1774-1837)
The daughter of Stephen Fricker, she was the first wife of Robert Southey and the mother
of his children; they married in secret in 1795.
George Wither (1588-1667)
Prolific Puritan poet and satirist who became a byword for bad poetry; during the
eighteenth century his more attractive youthful verse began to be reprinted and
admired.
The Critical Review, or, Annals of Literature. (1756-1817). Originally conducted by Tobias Smollett, the
Critical Review began
as a rival to the
Monthly Review, begun in 1749. It survived for 144
volumes before falling prey to the more fashionable quarterlies of the nineteenth
century.
