“If Mr. ——’s little tale (which reached me last night) be long enough for publication, I should think it possesses sufficient interest to be saleable. The author is, in my judgment, a man of very considerable, and indeed extraordinary, talents. This —— he has probably written hastily, and, I fear, upon the spur of want.
“Having myself sought after information respecting the countries on the Mississippi, I can say that the descriptions and natural history are, as far as my knowledge goes, accurate, and therefore it is fair to presume that such circumstances as were new to me are equally true to nature.
“I know nothing of —— but from his Travels; from that he appears to be a self-taught man, who has all
his life long been struggling with difficulties; and the book left upon me a
melancholy impression, that however much adversity had quickened his talents,
it had injured his moral feelings. Pride and vanity are only defensive vices in
a poor and neglected
| Ætat. 29. | OF ROBERT SOUTHEY. | 253 |
“Should you execute your design of the Collection of Voyages and Travels, which I hope and trust you will, this man might be made exceedingly useful to you. Being himself a sailor, and having seen and observed many countries, you will rarely find one so well qualified to digest many travels into one full account. I had begun a letter to you upon the subject of the Collection some months ago, but laid it aside when the alarm of invasion seemed to suspend all literary, and indeed all other, speculation. Should you resume the scheme, I will willingly send you an outline of what seems to me to be the most advisable plan.
“. . . . . It has occurred to me that I could make a
good companion to Ellis’s very
excellent book, under the
title of Specimens of the Modern
English Poetry, beginning exactly where he leaves off, and following
exactly his plan; coming down to the present time, and making death the time
where to stop. Two volumes would comprise it, perhaps. Let me know if you like
the scheme; it would require more trouble and more search than you will be at first aware of, but, with
Ellis’s work, it would form such a series of
arranged selections as no other country can boast. I could do it well, and
should do it willingly. If it
| 254 | LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE | Ætat. 29. |
