The Life and Correspondence of Robert Southey
Robert Southey to Joseph Cottle, 13 March 1797
“. . . . . Perhaps you will be surprised to hear that,
of all the lions or literati that I have seen here there
is not one whose countenance has not some unpleasant trait. Mary Imlay’s* is the best, infinitely
the best: the only fault in it is an expression somewhat similar to what the
prints of Horne Tooke display—an
expression indicating superiority; not haughtiness, not sarcasm in
Mary Imlay, but still it is unpleasant. Her eyes are
light brown, and, though the lid of one of them is affected by a little
paralysis, they are the most meaning I ever saw.
“When I was with George
Dyer one morning last week, Mary
Hayes and Miss Christal
entered, and the ceremony of introduction followed. Mary
Hayes writes in the ‘Monthly Magazine’ under the signature of M.
H., and sometimes writes nonsense there about Helvetius, She has
lately published a novel—‘Emma Courtenay’; a book much praised
and much abused. I have not seen it myself, but the severe censures passed on
it by persons of narrow mind have made me curious, and convinced me that it is
at least an uncommon book. Mary Hayes is an agreeable
woman, and a Godwinite. Now, if you will read Godwin’s book with attention, we will consider between us
in what light to consider that sectarian title. As for
Godwin himself he has large
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| 306 | LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE | Ætat. 23. |
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noble eyes, and a nose—oh,
most abominable nose! Language is not vituperations enough to describe the
effect of its downward elongation.* He loves London, literary society, and
talks nonsense about the collision of mind; and Mary Hayes
echoes him. But Miss Christal,—have you seen her
poems?—a fine,artless, sensible girl! Now, Cottle, that word sensible must not be construed here in its
dictionary acceptation. Ask a Frenchman what it means, and he will understand
it, though, perhaps, he can by no circumlocution explain its French meaning.
Her heart is alive, she loves poetry, she loves retirement, she loves the
country: her verses are very incorrect, and the literary circles say she has no
genius; but she has genius, Joseph Cottle, or there is no
truth in physiognomy. Gilbert Wakefield
came in while I was disputing with Mary Hayes upon the
moral effects of towns. He has a most critic-like voice, as if he had snarled
himself hoarse. You see I like the women better than the men. Indeed, they are
better animals in general, perhaps because more is left to nature in their
education. Nature is very good, but God knows there is very little of it left.
“I wish you were within a morning’s walk, but I am
always persecuted by time and space. Robert
* Godwin’s nose came in for no small share of
condemnation. In another letter he says—“We dine with
Mary Wollstonecroft (now
Godwin) to-morrow. Oh, he has a foul nose, and
I never see it without longing to cut it off. By the bye, Dr. —— told me that I had exactly
Lavater’s nose; to my
no small satisfaction, for I did not know what to make of that
protuberance or promontory of mine. I could not compliment him. He has
a very red, drinking face; and little good-humoured eyes, like cunning
and short-sightedness united.”—To Joseph
Cottle, May, 1797. |
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| Ætat. 23. | OF ROBERT SOUTHEY. | 307 |
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Southey and Law and Poetry make up an
odd kind of triunion. We jog on easily together, and I advance with sufficient
rapidity in Blackstone and Madoc, I hope to finish my poem and to
begin my practice in about two years. God bless you!
Yours affectionately,
Robert Southey.”
Sir William Blackstone (1723-1780)
English jurist, the author of
Commentaries on the Laws of England,
4 vols (1765-69).
Joseph Cottle (1770-1853)
Bristol bookseller and poet; he published the
Lyrical Ballads,
several heroic poems that attracted Byron's derision, and
Early
Recollections, chiefly relating to the late Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 2 vols
(1837).
Ann Batten Cristall (1769-1848)
English poet and friend of Mary Wollstonecraft and George Dyer; she published
Poetical Sketches (1795). She was the sister of the artist Joseph
Cristall.
George Dyer (1755-1841)
English poet, antiquary, and friend of Charles Lamb; author of
Poems
and Critical Essays (1802),
Poetics: or a Series of Poems and
Disquisitions on Poetry, 2 vols (1812),
History of the
University and Colleges of Cambridge, 2 vols (1814) and other works.
Mary Godwin [née Wollstonecraft] (1759-1797)
English feminist, author of
Vindication of the Rights of Woman
(1792); she married William Godwin in 1797 and died giving birth to their daughter
Mary.
William Godwin (1756-1836)
English novelist and political philosopher; author of
An Inquiry
concerning the Principles of Political Justice (1793) and
Caleb
Williams (1794); in 1797 he married Mary Wollstonecraft.
Mary Hays (1759-1843)
English writer who contributed to the
Monthly Magazine, traveled
in radical circles, and published an autobiographical novel,
Memoirs of
Emma Courtney (1796).
Henry Hunter (1741-1802)
The son of David Hunter of Culross; after education at Edinburgh University he was a
London clergyman, translator of Lavater, and author of
Sacred
Biography in seven volumes.
Johann Caspar Lavater (1741-1801)
German pastor, the author of
Physiognomische Fragmente zur Beförderung
der Menschenkenntis und Menschenliebe, 4 vols (1775-78), an illustrated study of
links between the face and the soul.
Robert Southey (1774-1843)
Poet laureate and man of letters whose contemporary reputation depended upon his prose
works, among them the
Life of Nelson, 2 vols (1813),
History of the Peninsular War, 3 vols (1823-32) and
The Doctor, 7 vols (1834-47).
John Horne Tooke (1736-1812)
Philologist and political radical; member of the Society for Constitutional Information
(1780); tried for high treason and acquitted (1794).
Gilbert Wakefield (1756-1801)
Unitarian scholar and controversialist who taught at Warrington and Hackney; he was
imprisoned for a seditious pamphlet (1799-1801).
The Monthly Magazine. (1796-1843). The original editor of this liberal-leaning periodical was John Aikin (1747-1822); later
editors included Sir Richard Phillips (1767-1840), the poet John Abraham Heraud
(1779-1887), and Benson Earle Hill (1795-45).
Robert Southey (1774-1843)
Madoc. (London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, 1805). A verse romance relating the legendary adventures of a Welsh prince in Wales and
pre-Columbian America.
