“I have made some use of your letters in the third
Annual Review. M’Kinnan has published a Tour through the British West
Indies; a decent book, but dull. In reviewing it, I eked out his account
with yours, and contrasted his words upon the slave trade with a passage from
your letters. In doing this, I could not help thinking what materials for a
book you might bring home if you would take the trouble: as
thus,—describe the appearance of all the islands you touch at, from the
sea,—their towns, how situated, how built,—what public buildings,
what sort of houses,—the inside of the houses, how furnished,—what
the mode of life of the townspeople, of the planter, in different ranks, and of
the different European settlers,—in short, all you see and all you hear,
looking about the more earnestly and asking questions. Many anecdotes of this,
and the last war, you have opportunities of collecting, particularly of
Victor Hughes; something also of St.
Domingo, or Hayti, as it must now be called, which I find means asperosa in Spanish, rugged. If
you would bring home matter for a picture of the islands as they now are, I
could delineate what they
| 310 | LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE | Ætat. 30. |
“Hamilton is broke, whereby I shall lose from 20l. to 30l. which he owes me for critical work, and which I shall never get;—rather hard upon one whose brains and eyesight have quite enough to do by choice, and are never overpaid for what they do by necessity. For meaner matter,—my little girl is not pretty; but she is a sweet child, so excellently good-tempered; as joyous as a sky-lark in a fine morning, and so quick of eye, of action, and of intellect, that I have a sad feeling about me of the little chance there is of rearing her; so don’t think too much about her.
“Whether this war with Spain will involve one with
Portugal is what we are all speculating about at present. I think it very
likely that Bonaparte will oblige the
Portuguese to turn the English out—a great evil to me in particular;
though should my uncle be driven to England, my settling will the sooner take
place. At present I am as unsettled as ever, at a distance from my books,
perpetually in want of them, wishing and wanting to be permanently fixed, and
still prevented by the old cause. Make a capital prize, Tom, and lend me a couple of hundreds, and you
shall see what a noble appearance my books will make. N.B.—I have a good
many that wait for your worship to letter them. This Spanish war may throw
something in your way; but I don’t like the war, and think it is unjust
and ungenerous to quarrel with an oppressed people because they have not
strength to resist the French.
| Ætat. 30. | OF ROBERT SOUTHEY. | 311 |
“God bless you!
