“Τετελεοται. I have seen the mortal remains of my sweet Isabel committed earth to earth. And what I must now do is, to find occupation in the business of this world, and comfort in the thought of the next. The loss which I suffered ten years ago was greater; the privation, perhaps, not so great; and there were not so many to partake and augment the sorrow.
“It would be acting a friend’s part, Grosvenor, if you would come to me a few weeks
hence. My mind will soon regain its wonted composure, and keep to itself all
thoughts which would awaken the grief of others. But I should be truly glad to
have you here, and the house would be the better for the presence of an old
friend. My poor wife would recover the sooner if some such turn were given to
her thoughts, and we might enjoy each other’s com-
| 254 | LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE | Ætat. 51. |
“I wish to show you some things, and to talk with you
about others; one business in particular, which is the disposal of my papers
whenever I shall be gathered to my fathers and to my children. That good office
would naturally be yours, should you be the survivor, if the business of the
Exchequer did not press upon you, like the world upon poor Atlas’s shoulders. I know not now upon whom
to turn my eyes for it, unless it be Henry
Taylor. Two long journies with me have made him well acquainted
with my temper and every-day state of mind. He has shown himself very much
attached to me, and would neither want will nor ability for what will not be a
difficult task, inasmuch as that which is of most importance, and would require
most care, will (if my life be spared but for a year or two) be executed by my
own hand. You do not know, I believe, that I have made some progress in writing
my own life and recollections upon a large scale. This will be of such certain
value as a post obit, that I shall make it a part of my regular business
(being, indeed, a main duty) to complete it. What is written is one of the
things which I am desirous of showing you. If you ever look over my letters, I
wish you would mark such passages as might not be improper for publication at
the time which I am looking forward to. You, and you alone, have a regular
series which has never been intermitted. From occasional cor-
| Ætat. 51. | OF ROBERT SOUTHEY. | 255 |
“I am not weary of the world, nor is the world weary of me; but it is fitting that I should prepare, in temporal matters, for the separation which must take place between us, in the course of years, at no very distant time, and which may occur at any hour.
“Our love to Miss Page. She will feel for us the more, because she knows what we have lost.
“God bless you, my dear Grosvenor!
