The Life and Correspondence of Robert Southey
Robert Southey to Thomas Southey, 1 January 1806
“Jan. 1. 1806. (Many happy returns.)
“Don’t be cast down, Tom: were I to make laws, no man should be made master and
commander till he was thirty years of age. Made you will be at last, and will
get on at last as high as your heart can wish: never doubt that, as I never
doubt it.
“Don’t send me another turtle till I am Lord
Mayor, and then I shall be much obliged to you for one; but, for Heaven’s
sake, not till then. I consigned over all my right and title in the green fat
to Wynn, by a formal power sent to
Coutts the ![]()
| Ætat. 32. | OF ROBERT SOUTHEY. | 11 |
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banker, who was to look out for him; but of his arrival not a word
yet;—ten to one but he is digested. When you are coming home, if you
could bring a cargo of dried tamarinds I should like them, because they are
very seldom to be got in England: I never saw them but once. Dried, mark you, in the husk,—not preserved. The acid is
exceedingly delightful. Now remember, the words are when you
are coming home, and bring: do not attempt to
send them, or there will be trouble, vexation, unnecessary expense, and, most
likely, the loss of the thing itself.
“My daughter
never sees a picture of ship or boat but she talks of her uncle in the ship,
and as regularly receives the kiss which he sent in the letter. You will be
very fond of her if she goes on as well when you come home as she does at
present. Harry is hard at work for the
last season at Edinburgh, preparing to pass muster and be be-doctored in July.
Most likely he will go to Lisbon with me in the autumn; at least I know not how
he can be better employed for a few months, than in travelling and spoiling his
complexion.
“The extraordinary success of Bonaparte, or, rather, the wretched misconduct of Austria, has
left the Continent completely under the control of France. Our plan should be
to increase our cruisers and scour the seas effectually,—to take all we
can, and keep all we take,—professing that such is our intention, and
that we are ready to make peace whenever France pleases, upon the simple terms
of leaving off with our winnings. Meantime we ought to take the Cape, the
French islands in the East (those in the ![]()
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West would cost
too many lives, and may be left for the Blacks), Minorca, Sicily, and Egypt. If
France chooses to have the mainland, the islands should be ours. I suppose we
shall go upon some such plan. As for invasion, the old story will begin again
in the spring: but it is a thing impossible, and you sailors best know this.
Lord St. Vincent used to say, when it
was talked of, ‘I don’t say they can’t come,—I only
say that they can’t come by sea.’ What will affect me is
the fate of Portugal; for it is now more than ever to be expected that
Bonaparte will turn us out, merely to show he can do
it. This will be to me a grievous annoyance. It is not unlikely that he will
propose peace after these splendid victories, and it is not impossible that
Pitt may accept it, to keep his
place. Heaven forbid! To give up Malta now would be giving up the national
honour; it would be confessing that we had lost the game—whereas we can
play the single-handed game for ever. Our bad partners ruin us. The ultimate
consequences of the success of France may not be so disastrous to Europe as is
generally supposed. Suppose that the Continent be modelled as
Bonaparte pleases,—which it will be,—and
that it remains so in peace for twenty or thirty years: he will have disabled
Austria it is true, but all the other powers will be strengthened, and a new
state created in Italy which did not exist before. Then she will be under
French direction: true, but still not French; the difference of language
effectually prevents that. Bonaparte will not be a
long-lived man; he cannot be, in the ordinary course of nature; there has been,
and will be too much wear ![]()
| Ætat. 32. | OF ROBERT SOUTHEY. | 13 |
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and tear of him. His successor,
if the succession go regularly on, as I suppose it will, will certainly not
inherit his talents, and the first-born Emperor will have all the benefit of
imperial education, which is quite sure to make him upon a level with all other
sovereign princes. By that time the French generals will have died off, and we
must not forget that it is the Revolution which made these men generals, and
that men no longer rise according to their merit.
“Jan. 5.
“I have just received the following
news:—‘Sir,—Am extremely sorry to be obliged to inform
you, that a turtle, that I flattered myself would have survived home, from
the excessive long passage and performance of quarantine at Cork, Falmouth,
and Sea Reach, died in the former port, with every one on board the
ship.—Respectfully, yr much obliged and
obedient servant, Stephen T.
Selk.’—So much for the turtle! I think
if Government will make such beasts perform quarantine, they ought to pay for
the loss. Surfeits and indigestions they may bring into the city, but of the
yellow fever there can be no danger. The Court of Aldermen should take it into
consideration.
“And now, to finish this letter of gossip. I am in the
midst of reviewing, which will be over by the time this reaches you, even if,
contrary to custom, it should reach you in regular course. Espriella also will, by that time,
be gone to press. This, and the History of the Cid, I shall have to send you in the summer. No
further news of the sale;—in fact, if ![]()
| 14 | LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE | Ætat. 32. |
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the edition
of 500 goes off in two years, it will be a good sale for so costly a book. I
hope it will not be very long before Thalaba goes to press a second time. God
bless you!
Thomas Coutts (1735-1822)
Edinburgh-born banker to royalty and aristocracy—and patron of Benjamin Robert Haydon;
his daughter Sophia married Sir Francis Burnett.
John Jervis, earl of St. Vincent (1735-1823)
English Naval officer who defeated the Spanish fleet off Cape St. Vincent in 1797 and was
first lord of the Admiralty 1801-04.
Emperor Napoleon I (1769-1821)
Military leader, First Consul (1799), and Emperor of the French (1804), after his
abdication he was exiled to Elba (1814); after his defeat at Waterloo he was exiled to St.
Helena (1815).
William Pitt the younger (1759-1806)
The second son of William Pitt, earl of Chatham (1708-1778); he was Tory prime minister
1783-1801.
Henry Herbert Southey (1783-1865)
The younger brother of Robert Southey; educated at Edinburgh University, he was physician
to George IV, Gresham Professor of Medicine, and friend of Sir Walter Scott.
Thomas Southey (1777-1838)
The younger brother of Robert Southey; he was a naval captain (1811) and afterwards a
Customs officer. He published
A Chronological History of the West
Indies (1828).
Charles Watkin Williams Wynn (1775-1850)
The son of Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, fourth baronet; educated at Westminster and Christ
Church, Oxford, Robert Southey's friend and benefactor was a Whig MP for Old Sarum (1797)
and Montgomeryshire (1799-1850). He was president of the Board of Control (1822-28).
