The Life and Correspondence of Robert Southey
Robert Southey to Grosvenor C. Bedford, 15 June 1823
“Keswick, June 15. 1823.
“My dear G.,
“The worst symptom of advancing age which I am
sensible of in myself is a certain anxiety concerning ways and means; to that
cause I impute it, for I am sure it does not belong to my disposition.
“You tell me it is not politic to work entirely for
posthumous fame. Alas, Grosvenor, had
you forgotten when you wrote that sentence that by far ![]()
| 140 | LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE | Ætat. 48. |
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the
greater portion of my life has been consumed in providing for my household
expenses? As for reputation, of that, God knows, I have as much as either I
deserve or desire. If I have not profited by it, as some of my contemporaries
have by theirs, the fault is not owing to my living out of sight. What
advantage could it possibly be to me to meet great men at dinner twice or
thrice in the season, and present myself as often at court? There is, I dare
say, good will enough among some of the men in power to serve me, if they knew
how; but if they asked me how, I should not be able to point out a way. . . . .
“Is it impossible for you to break away from London,
and lay in a stock of fresh health and spirits by help of fresh air and
exhilarating exercise? I wish you would come here and stay with me till I could
return to town with you. You would do me good as well as yourself. 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.
