My Friends and Acquaintance
R. Plumer Ward VIII
Robert Plumer Ward to Peter George Patmore, 24 April 1824
“Dear Sir,—I was so desirous
of losing no time in sending back the first volume of ![]()
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‘Tremaine,’
yesterday, that I wrote in too great a hurry. In particular, if your critical
friend was really serious in what he said about ‘imputation,’ I
ought to have explained more than I did what I meant by his being partial (for I cannot think I called him a panegyrist)
in the —— Review. By partial, then, I did not mean partial to you, but to a
work which he had himself, by his judicious emendations, contributed to form:
perhaps I might say partial to Georgina,
whose character he seemed to so much like. If he thinks I imputed to him that
he would be a panegyrist contrary to his opinions and feelings, nothing can be
more erroneous; and I beg you will lose no time in giving him this explanation.
You see I continue to suppose him the Reviewer in the —— (indeed, am only
confirmed by his letter in thinking so), and my respect for him makes me
anxious to remove all notion from him that I could have meant anything
derogatory to his perfect freedom of mind. Indeed, I cannot imagine yet that he
can have been serious, but that some of the ![]()
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language he
has used indicates something like an offended spirit.
“Upon consideration, I do not think that the emendations
you have sent me (with the exception of those of the punctuation, which are
most valuable) go far enough; and with the exception of Eugenia’s story,
which you know I have entirely left to your friend’s discretion, I would
wish my own castigations to be pursued in addition to his. * *
“”Wherever I have added any sentence giving a
somewhat different turn to the ideas conveyed, I request it may be most exactly
followed. You will, however, find this is scarcely anywhere done, except in one
or two pages of the Bellenden House conversations—particularly in the
description of Mrs. Neville, and in the chapter on Lord St. Clair previous to
his offer to Greorgina. I have very particular reasons for wishing this to be
most strictly complied with, and depend upon you exactly to second my wish.
“ * * I am glad your friend consents to have in the
Bellenden House conversations and characters. But I do not think I mis-![]()
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construed his objection to them originally. The words he
used were—‘they are all great bores’—the honesty of which
cured their brusquerie; but I could not collect that his dislike to them
proceeded chiefly from their being of no consequence to the story. With great
submission to him, they are even connected with the story, as developing much
of both Georgina and Tremaine, for without them we should know nothing
of his penchant for Miss Neville or
Lady Gertrude. Lady Gertrude afterwards even connects with the story, and
Mrs. Neville, too, in the affair of
Melainie; and at any rate they, with
Miss Lyttleton, absolutely give rise to
the night conversation in the carriage on returning home—so critical to the
heart of Georgina. * * *
Robert Plumer Ward (1765-1846)
Tremaine: or, the Man of Refinement. 3 vols (London: H. Colburn, 1825). The first “silver fork” novel.
