“I have some news to tell you of my own family. Mr. T. Southey is dead: about half his property he has left to the son of a friend of his at Bristol, and the rest to his man Tom, and a few other such objects of his regard. This conduct towards me and my brothers is neither very surprising nor very blameable; we lived at a distance from him, and, when he did see us, he saw animals of so very different a nature from himself, that the wonder would have been if he had taken any pleasure in their society. But he has a sister, now advanced in life, and ill provided for; and she kept his house till he turned her out of it, for no other reason than that she discovered some regret at seeing the foot-boy Tom preferred to her nephews; and he has not left her anything. This is wicked and unnatural conduct. My account comes from her. She says nothing of herself, and, I verily believe, thinks nothing upon that score; but her letter is an affecting one. ‘I hope God will forgive him (these are her concluding words). John made himself a slave to get this trash: Thomas has made himself a fool to give it away.* I hope neither you nor yours will ever want it.’ The property thus disposed of is about 1000l. a-year. An estate of half that value was left by the elder brother
* This property had been left to Thomas Southey by his elder brother John. |
| 310 | LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE | Ætat. 36. |
“You know me well enough to know that no man living more thoroughly understands what Shenstone called the flocci-nauci-nihili-pilification of money. I had no expectations, and, consequently, have experienced no disappointment. God be praised for it! I have, also, no want. My employment (provided I write prose) is sufficiently paid; I have plenty of it; and like it as well as if it were merely the amusement of leisure hours. And, in case of my death before I shall have been able to make a provision for my family, my life is insured for 1000l.; and the world must be worse than I believe it to be if my operas should not produce enough in addition to that. . . . .
“I have another piece of news, which did surprise me.
Brougham has been commissioned to apply
to my uncle for the purpose of
discovering whether I would undertake to translate Lucien Bonaparte’s poem. My uncle replied, he supposed not,
but referred the plenipotentiary to me; and no further proceedings have taken
place. When I hear from B. I shall recommend Elton for the task, who translates well, and
will, probably, be glad of a task which is likely to be so well paid. This has
amused me very much; but it has rather lowered Lucien in
my opinion, by the vanity which it implies. If his poem be good for anything,
he may be sure it will find translators: it looks ill to be so impatient for
fame as to look about for one, and pay him for his work. From whom the
application to my worship came I do not know; Lucien has
probably applied
| Ætat. 36. | OF ROBERT SOUTHEY. | 311 |
“God bless you!
