The Life and Correspondence of Robert Southey
Robert Southey to Thomas Southey, 10 January 1809
“I have corrected five sheets of the Brazil; and am now hard at work in
transcribing, and filling up skeleton chapters; that in particular which
contains everything concerning my friends the Tupinambas that has not
inadvertently been said before. I wish you were here to hear it, as it gets on.
There is a great pleasure in reading these things to any one who takes an
interest in them,—and like our toast at breakfast, they seem the better
for coming in fresh and fresh. I made an important discovery relative to
De Lery—one of my best printed
authorities,—this morning. This author, who though a Frenchman, was a
very faithful writer, translated his own French into Latin, and I used the
Latin edition in De Boy’s
collection,—you remember the book with those hideous prints of the
savages at their cannibal feasts;—William
Taylor laid hands on the French book, and sent it me; it arrived
last Thursday only; and I, in transcribing with my usual scrupulous accuracy,
constantly referred to this original, because I ![]()
| 208 | LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE | Ætat. 35. |
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knew
that when an author translates his own book, he often alters it, and therefore
it was probable that I might sometimes find a difference worthy of notice.
Well, I found my own references to the number of the chapter wrong; for the
first time it past well enough for a blunder, though I wondered at it a little,
being remarkably exact in these things; the second time I thought it very
extraordinary; and a third instance made me quite certain that something was
wrong, but that the fault was not in me. Upon examination, it appeared that a
whole chapter, and that chapter the most important as to the historical part of
the volume, had been omitted by De Boy, because he was a
Catholic, De Lery a Huguenot, and this chapter exposed the
villany of Villegagnon, who went to
Brazil expressly to establish an asylum for the Huguenots; when there, was won
over by the Guises, apostatised, and thus ruined a colony,
which must else inevitably have made Rio de Janeiro now the capital of a
French, instead of a Portuguese empire. The main facts I had collected before,
and clearly understood; but the knavery of a Roman Catholic editor had thus
nearly deprived me of my best and fullest authority, and of some very material
circumstances, for no one has ever yet suspected this collection of being
otherwise than faithful, though it is now more than two hundred years old. See
here the necessity of tracing every thing to the fountain-head when it is
possible.
“What you said about transports I repeated to Bedford: he made inquiry, and understood the
objection came from the navy captains, who did not like ![]()
| Ætat. 35. | OF ROBERT SOUTHEY. | 209 |
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to have their ships encumbered, or to feel as if they
were transports. I repeated it to Coleridge and Wordsworth, and through them it has reached Stuart, and got into the Courier, whether or
not with effect time will show; but there is nothing like sending so obvious a
truth afloat: it will find its way sooner or later. I see the captains are
petitioning for an increase of pay; they will get it to be sure, and then the
increase must extend to you also.
“Things in Spain look well. Bonaparte’s bulletins prove beyond all doubt that every
heart is against him, and his threat of taking the crown himself is the perfect
frenzy of anger. Sir John Moore’s
movements backward and forwards, have been mere moves at chess to gain time,
and wait for a blunder on the part of the adversary,—so Bedford tells me; and his intelligence is
good, coming from Herries, who is
Perceval’s secretary, and
Gifford, who is in Canning’s confidence.
Moore is a very able man, and is acting with a
boldness which gives everybody confidence that knows him. He will beat twice
his own number of Frenchmen; and I do not think greater odds can be brought
against him. It looks well, that in this fresh embarkation, the officers are
desired not to take more baggage than they can carry themselves. At him,
Trojan! We shall beat him, Tom, upon
Spanish ground. Let but our men fairly see the faces of the French in battle,
and they will soon see their backs too.
“The Grenvilles and Foxites are
likely to separate upon the question of peace. Canning hankers after the Grenvilles, and
would do much to bring them in ![]()
| 210 | LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE | Ætat. 35. |
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with him, instead of his
wretched associates. They are not popular; but if they had courage to make a
home charge upon the Duke of York, and insist
upon his removal as a preliminary and sine qua
non to their going in, that measure would win them a
popularity which would carry them in in spite of every obstacle. God bless you!
Grosvenor Charles Bedford (1773-1839)
The son of Horace Walpole's correspondent Charles Bedford; he was auditor of the
Exchequer and a friend of Robert Southey who contributed to several of Southey's
publications.
George Canning (1770-1827)
Tory statesman; he was foreign minister (1807-1809) and prime minister (1827); a
supporter of Greek independence and Catholic emancipation.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)
English poet and philosopher who projected
Lyrical Ballads (1798)
with William Wordsworth; author of
Biographia Literaria (1817),
On the Constitution of the Church and State (1829) and other
works.
Frederick Augustus, Duke of York (1763-1827)
He was commander-in-chief of the Army, 1798-1809, until his removal on account of the
scandal involving his mistress Mary Anne Clarke.
William Gifford (1756-1826)
Poet, scholar, and editor who began as a shoemaker's apprentice; after Oxford he
published
The Baviad (1794),
The Maeviad
(1795), and
The Satires of Juvenal translated (1802) before becoming
the founding editor of the
Quarterly Review (1809-24).
Damião de Góis (1502-1574)
Portuguese humanist and friend of Erasmus; he has a contribution in
Mores, leges, et ritus omnium gentium (1604).
John Charles Herries (1778-1855)
Educated at Cheam and Leipzig University, he was private secretary to Spencer Percival,
auditor of the civil list (1816), and MP for Harwich (1823-41) and Stamford
(1847-53).
Jean de Léry (1536-1613)
French Protestant who sailed to Brazil to establish a Hugenot colony and published
Histoire d'un voyage faict en la terre du Brésil (1578).
Sir John Moore (1761-1809)
A hero of the Peninsular Campaign, killed at the Battle of Corunna; he was the son of Dr.
John Moore, the author of
Zeluco.
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).
Spencer Perceval (1762-1812)
English statesman; chancellor of the exchequer (1807), succeeded the Duke of Portland as
prime minister (1809); he was assassinated in the House of Commons.
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).
Daniel Stuart (1766-1846)
Originally its printer, he was proprietor of the
Morning Post from
1795-1803; in about 1800 he became part-proprietor and editor of
The
Courier.
William Taylor of Norwich (1765-1836)
Translator, poet, and essayist; he was a pupil of Anna Letitia Barbauld and correspondent
of Robert Southey who contributed to the
Monthly Magazine, the
Monthly Review, the
Critical Review, and
other periodicals.
William Wordsworth (1770-1850)
With Coleridge, author of
Lyrical Ballads (1798), Wordsworth
survived his early unpopularity to succeed Robert Southey as poet laureate in 1843.
