The Collected Letters of Robert Southey. Part 1: 1791-1797 A Romantic Circles Electronic Edition Southey, Robert, 1774-1843 Lynda Pratt Romantic Circles General Editor, Neil Fraistat General Editor, Steven E. Jones General Editor, Carl Stahmer Technical Editor Laura Mandell 2009-03-15 rce109 letterEEd.26.109 Romantic Circles, http://www.rc.umd.edu, University of Maryland College Park, MD March 15, 2009

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Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, University of Texas, Austin. Previously published: E. H. Coleridge (ed.), Letters of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 2 vols (London, 1895), I, pp. 107–108 n. 2 [in part].

These letters were edited with the assistance of Carol Bolton, Tim Fulford and Ian Packer

For permission to publish the text of MSS in their possession, the editor wishes to thank the Beinecke Rare Books and Manuscript Library, Yale University; Berg Collection of English and American Literature, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations; the Bodleian Library Oxford University; the British Library; Boston Public Library; the Syndics of Cambridge University Library; the Syndics of the Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge; Haverford College, Connecticut; the Historical Society of Pennsylvania; the Hornby Library, Liverpool Libraries and Information Services; the Houghton Library, Harvard University; the John Rylands Library, Manchester; the Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas; Luton Museum (Bedfordshire County Council); Massachusetts Historical Society; McGill University Library; the National Library of Scotland; the Newberry Library, Chicago; the New York Public Library (Pforzheimer Collections); the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York; the Public Record Offices of Bedford, Suffolk (Bury St Edmunds) and Northumberland, the Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge; the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne; the Trustees of the William Salt Library, Stafford, the Wisbech and Fenland Museum; the University of Virginia Library.

A research grant from the British Academy made much of the archival work possible, as did support from the English Department of Nottingham Trent University.

All quotation marks and apostrophes have been changed: " for “," for ”, ' for ‘, and ' for ’.

Any dashes occurring in line breaks have been removed.

Because of web browser variability, all hyphens have been typed on the U.S. keyboard.

Dashes have been rendered as a variable number of hyphens to give a more exact rendering of their length.

Southey's spelling has not been regularized.

Writing in other hands appearing on these manuscripts has been indicated as such, the content recorded in brackets.

& has been used for the ampersand sign.

£ has been used for £, the pound sign

All other characters, those with accents, non-breaking spaces, etc., have been encoded in HTML entity decimals.

 NINES categories for Genre and Material Form at http://www.performantsoftware.com/nines_wiki/index.php/Submitting_RDF#.3Cnines:genre.3E on 2009-02-26 Architecture Artifacts Bibliography Collection Criticism Letters Drama Life Writing Politics Folklore Ephemera Fiction History Leisure Manuscript Reference Works Humor Education Music nonfiction Paratext Perodical Philosphy Photograph Citation Family Life Poetry Religion Review Visual Art Translation Travel Book History Law Southey Letters: Biographies Southey Letters: Places Laura Mandell XSLT Transforming Averill Buchanan corrections from proofing Laura Mandell XSLT Transforming Averill Buchanan TEI Encoding
109. Robert Southey to Miss Fricker [possibly Sarah Fricker], [19 October 1794] Address: Miss Fricker/ Redclift Hill/ Bristol. Stamped: BATHEndorsements: a letter on leaving his aunt, Miss Tyler, his mother’s half sister, with whom he had mostly lived. S.C.; 1794MS: Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, University of Texas, AustinPreviously published: E. H. Coleridge (ed.), Letters of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 2 vols (London, 1895), I, pp. 107–108 n. 2 [in part].

“Amid the pelting of the pityless storm”A paraphrase of King Lear, Act 3, scene 4, line 29.

Did I Robert Southey — the Apostle of Pantisocracy — depart from the city of Bristol my natal place — at the hour of five in a wet windy evening on the seventeenth of October 1794 wrapt up in my fathers old great coat & my own cogitations. Like old Lear I did not call the elements unkind King Lear, Act 3, scene 2, line 16. — & on I past musing on the lamentable effects of pride & prejudice — retracing all the events of my past life — & looking forward to the days to come with pleasure. three miles from Bristol — an old man of sixty — most royally drunk — laid hold of my arm & beggd we might join company as he was going to Bath. I consented for he wanted assistance & dragged the foul animal thro the dirt wind & rain! he calling <me> his good comrade his companion — fellow traveller & dear friend! blessing God that he had met with a young gentleman after his own heart — & exclaiming what would have become of me if I had not found such a good friend as you! in vain did I attempt to house him on the road — he would cry dont leave me my dear dear friend! I shall die if you leave me. — think of me — with a mind so fully occupied — leading this man nine miles — & had I not led him he would have lain down under a hedge & probably perished.

I reached not Bath till nine o clock. when the rain pelted me most unmercifully in the face I rejoiced that my friends at Bath knew not where I was — & was once vexed at thinking that you would hear it drive against the window & be sorry for the wayworn travellers. here I am — well — & satisfied with my own conduct.

I have heard from Lovell. his letter contained little more than what he wrote to Bristol. Favell goes certainly with us & (I trust) Le Grice. I write to them both by this days post.

my cloaths are arrived. “I will never see his face again — & if he writes will return his letters unopened”. to comment on this would be useless. I feel that strong conviction of rectitude which would make me smile on the rack. the two childrenThe MS has an insertion in Sara Coleridge’s hand: ‘Henry Herbert, & Ed Southey.’ are to come to Bath on Wednesday evening. I fetch them & meet them at the long coach. so if you be in the Old market about four o clock we may have an hours conversation. I purpose being in Bristol at that hour.

the crisis is over — things are as they should be. my Mother vexes herself much yet feels she is right. hostilities are commenced with America! so we must go to some neutral port. Hambro or Venice.

Your sister is well — & sends her love to all. on Wednesday I hope to see you. till then farewell.

Robert Southey.

Bath.
Sunday morning.