1130. Robert Southey to
[Thomas Southey](people.html#SoutheyTom),
7 December
1805Address: To/ Lieutenant Southey./ H. M. S. Amelia/ St Kitts/ or elsewhere./ Single
Stamped: [partial] KESWICK
Postmark: [partial] E/ DEC10
MS:
British Library, Add MS 47890
Previously published: Charles Cuthbert Southey (ed.), Life and Correspondence of
Robert Southey, 6 vols (London, 1849–1850), II, pp. 357–60 [in part]. December 7. 1805.
[Keswick](places.html#Keswick) Dear Tom I was preparing last night to write to you, but the newspaper came, & seeing therein that a mail was
arrived I waited till this evening for a letter & have not been disappointed. Thank you for the turtle, & thank Heaven it
has never reached me; – in bodily fear lest it should I wrote off immediately to give it to [Wynn](people.html#WynnCharlesWW), See Southey to Charles Watkin Williams
Wynn, 24 November 1805, Letter 1125. & if he had not been in town should have given it to any body who would have
been kind enough to have eased me of so inconvenient a visitor. How the Devil Tom could you think of sending me a turtle! When
indeed I come to be Lord Mayor it may be a suitable presentTurtle was served annually to the Lord Mayor of London and assembled dignitaries on the day of the Lord Mayor’s show. – but now! – Its carriage down would have been not less than forty
shillings – & we should have been quite as much puzzled with it as the [Old
Gentleman](people.html#SoutheyJohn) was. Nobody would have known how to kill it, how to cut it up, or how to dress it – there would have been
nobody here to help us to eat it nobody to whom we could have given it. – Whether [Wynn](people.html#WynnCharlesWW) has got it I cannot tell, but most likely xxx it has been eaten upon the way. The turtle did not reach [Keswick](places.html#Keswick), but died in quarantine; see Southey
to Thomas Southey, 1–5 January 1806, Letter 1140.
You mention the contents of poor Ld Probys William Allen Proby, Lord Proby
(1779–1804), eldest son of John Joshua Proby, 1st Earl of Carysfort (1751–1828; DNB), who was the previous
captain of Thomas Southey’s ship HMS Amelia and had recently died of yellow fever. common place
books. If you can procure them for his father Ld Carysfort, John Joshua Proby, 1st Earl of
Carysfort: judge, diplomat, Whig politician and poet, who was the author of Dramatic and Narrative Poems
(1810). He was a fellow pupil of Southey’s at Westminster School. both he & [Wynn](people.html#WynnCharlesWW) will be exceedingly obliged to you. Southey had recently described these
in a letter to Wynn; see Southey to Charles Watkin Williams Wynn, 24 November 1805, Letter 1125. I am desired by [Wynn](people.html#WynnCharlesWW) to say this, – or indeed if you can send any thing that belongs to him which
would be likely to be valued by his friends. If you can get the papers direct them to [Wynn](people.html#WynnCharlesWW) – 5. Stone Buildings, Lincolns Inn – London – by the by you asked his direction, & this is it.
Your Extracts are very interesting, but several have miscarried – the Devil seems to be Post-Master General on that
station. Go on as you have begun, & you will soon collect more & more valuable materials than you are aware of. Describe a
W. Indian tavern – its difference from ours. Go to church one Sunday, to describe church & congregation. Inquire at every town
if there be any schools there – any dissenters – how the Methodists get on. collect some Jamaica newspapers, – & if you can
the magazine which is printed there. Your Tortola The largest island in the Caribbean
group, the British Virgin Islands.-letter is a very delightful one. Put down all the stories you hear. When you go
ashore take notice of the insects that you see – the birds xxx all make parts of the picture. xxx Lose
nothing that a Creole, or any man acquainted with the Islands, tells you concerning them. Send me all the stories about
Pompey ‘Pompey’ was a popular name for African slaves, after Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus,
also known as ‘Pompey the Great’ (106–48 BC), a military and political leader of the late Roman republic. – he must be
a curious character. ask him his history. What sort of churchyards, have they? any epitaphs? where do they bury the Negroes? is
there any funeral service for them? Tom eventually published his ‘extracts’ as A
Chronological History of the West Indies (1828).
My last was directed to St Kitts, One of the Leeward
Islands in the West Indies. where it seems I must direct always! – in all my last letters I have advised you to get to
Europe if you can. Sir Samuel is made Admiral in the last promotions. Vice-Admiral Sir
Samuel Hood, 1st Baronet (1762–1814; DNB), had been in command of the fleet in which Tom Southey served, and
was replaced by Admiral Sir Alexander Forrester Inglis Cochrane (1758–1832; DNB). I have heard nothing
of his having a command – but certainly he is a man to look to, & one who will not be laid aside upon the shelf. I
go to Lisbon next year, most likely not till the Autumn. Whether [Edith](people.html#FrickerEdith) goes will
depend upon the state of politics, for xxx it would be foolish to take her if there should be much danger of being
turned out. [My Uncle](people.html#HillHerbertUncle) is still there & will stay as long as he can. [Edward](people.html#SoutheyEdward) has left the service a third time – is with [his Aunt](people.html#TylerElizabeth), & struts about in regimentals – tho he has no commission. he told [Danvers](people.html#DanversCharles) three months ago he was to be gazetted the next week as Lieutenant in the
Caermarthenshire – now he says it is to be in the regulars at once. Nothing that he says is to be believed. He never tells truth –
unless there is any thing to be got by it.
I am happy to hear you have got rid of the Amsterdammers. Amsterdammers
was a Southey family name for haemorrhoids; see Southey to John Rickman, 26 June 1807, Letter 1336. the complaint seems
to be so common that I think myself fortunate to have lived at this age without ever having experienced it. – You talk of
invasion. depend upon it, it never will & never can be attempted while our fleet is what it is, – & poor Nelson Horatio, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté (1758–1805; DNB), who had
recently been killed at the Battle of Trafalgar in October 1805. has left its name higher than ever. Good God what a
blaze of glory as he departed in! – the Spaniards you will see behaved most honourably to the men who were wrecked & who fell
into their hands – & about our wounded, – & the French very ill. Continental Politics are too much in the dark for me to
say any thing. it is by no means clear that Prussia will take part against France – tho highly probable, & now highly politic.
if she should I think Bonapartes victories may prove his destruction.
Still busy reviewing – the 2d & 3d Annuals should be at Barbadoes by
this time. You have somewhere an account of my articles in the 2d. In the third look at these articles as mine
– Chap.1. Numbers. 5. 6. 9. 11. Chap 3 – Nos 8. 9. 17. Ch. 5 – No 11. Ch. 8. – 9. 10. 11.
16. 17. Ch. 10 – 1. 3. 5. 6. 7. 9. 10. 11. 13. 14. 17. 18. 19. 21. 22. 23. 27. 30. 31. Ch. 12. – 2. 3. 4. 7. 8. Ch. 21. – 8. – All
these good bad & indifferent are mine. Southey reviewed, in the Annual Review
for 1804, 3 (1805): John Barrow (1764–1848; DNB), An Account of Travels into the Interior of
Southern Africa, in the years 1797 and 1798, including Observations on the Geology & Geography, the Natural History
... and Sketches of the Various Tribes Surrounding the Cape of Good Hope, Vol. II (1804), 22–33; Robert Percival
(1765–1826), An Account of the Cape of Good Hope (1804), 34–41; Daniel Mackinnen (1767–1830), A Tour
Through the British West Indies, in the years 1802 and 1803 giving a Particular Account of the Bahama Islands
(1804), 50–56; John Barrow, Travels in China: Containing Descriptions, Observations and Comparisons Made and Collected
in the Course of a Short Residence at the Imperial Palace of Yuen-min-yuen, and on a Subsequent Journey from Pekin to
Canton (1804), 69–83; Sir John Froissart’s Chronicles of England, France, and the Adjoining Countries, from
the Latter Part of the Reign of Edward II to the Coronation of Henry IV, trans. Thomas Johnes (1748–1816;
DNB) (1804), 189–194; George Heriot (1766–1844), The History of Canada, From its First Discovery:
Comprehending an Account of the Original Establishment of the Colony of Louisiana, 194–197; Part the First
of An Address to the Public from the Society for the Suppression of Vice, Instituted, in London, 1802, Setting Forth, with
a List of the Members, the Utility and Necessity of such an Institution, and its Claim to Public Support (1803),
225–231; Edward Ledwich (1738–1823), The Antiquities of Ireland (1804), 398–413; Original Correspondence
of Jean Jacques Rousseau, with Mad. La Tour de Franqueville and M. Du Peyrou (1804), 485–488; Anna Seward,
Memoirs of the Life of Dr. Darwin, ... with Anecdotes of his Friends and Criticisms on his Writings (1804),
488–93; David Irving (1778–1850), The Lives of the Scotish Poets; with Preliminary Dissertations on the Literary
History of Scotland and the Early Scotish Drama (1804), 493–499; Walter Scott, Sir Tristram: A Metrical
Romance by Thomas of Ercildoune (1804), 555–563; Charles Abraham Elton (1778–1853), Poems (1804),
564–565; William Day (dates unknown), The Shepherd’s Boy: being Pastoral Tales (1804), 567–568; E. Warren
(dates unknown), The Poet’s Day, or, Imagination’s Ramble (1804), 568; Cupid turned Volunteer: in a
Series of Prints, Designed by her Royal Highness the Princess Elizabeth; and Engraved by W. N. Gardiner, B.A., with
Poetical Illustrations by T. P [Thomas Park (1758/9–1834; DNB)] (1804), 568–580; Thomas Green
Fessenden (1771–1837), Original Poems (1804), 571; John Blair Linn (1777–1805), The Powers of
Genius (1801), 571; Thomas Clio Rickman (1761–1834; DNB), An Ode in Celebration of the
Emancipation of the Blacks of Saint Domingo, November 29, 1803 (1804), 572; Robert Bloomfield, Good
Tidings (1804), 574; William Robert Spencer (1770–1834; DNB), The Year of Sorrow
(1804), 574–575; British Purity: or, the World we Live in. A Poetic Tale, of Two Centuries…By Lory Lucian and Jerry
Juvenal, … Assisted by S. Scriblerus, etc. [pseud.] (1804), 575; William Falconer (1732–1769), The
Shipwreck, (1804), ed., James Stanier Clarke (1766–1834; DNB), 577–580; William Tooke (1777–1863),
ed., The Poetical Works of Charles Churchill: with Explanatory Notes and an Authentic Account of his Life
(1804), 580–585; J. Amphlett (dates unknown), Invasion: a Descriptive and Satirical Poem (1804), 585; Joseph
Jefferson (1766–1824), Horae Poeticæ. Poems, Sacred, Moral and Descriptive (1804), 586–587; Alexander Campbell
(1764–1824; DNB), The Grampians Desolate, a Poem in Six Books (1804), 587–591; William Crowe
(bap. 1745, d. 1829; DNB), Lewesdon Hill (1804), 593–594; John Finlay (1782–1810),
Wallace, or, The Vale of Ellerslie, and other Poems (1804), 594–596; Jessie Stewart (dates unknown),
Ode to Dr. Thomas Percy (1804), 597; John Belfour (1768–1842), Fables on Subjects Connected with
Literature. Imitated from the Spanish of Don Tomas de Yriarte (1804), 597–598; Transactions of the
Missionary Society (1804), 621–634; Edward Davies (1756–1831; DNB), Celtic Researches, on
the Origin, Traditions, & Language, of the Ancient Britons; with some Introductory Sketches, on Primitive
Society (1804), 634–644; [Anon.] No Slaves - No Sugar: Containing New and Irresistible Arguments in Favour
of the African Trade by a Liverpool Merchant (1804), 644–648; William Tennant (1758–1813), Indian
Recreations, Consisting Chiefly of Strictures on the Domestic and Rural Economy of the Mahommedans and Hindoos
(1803), 658–670; John Gardiner (fl. 1758–1792), Essays Literary, Political and Economical (1804), 670–674;
Richard Duppa, Heads from the Fresco Pictures of Raffaele in the Vatican (1802), 918–923.[W](people.html#TaylorWilliam)m Taylors you can always discover, & – except in the
scientific part, there is little or nothing good in the work but what comes from him or from me. His chief department is in the
historical & political part, – & whatever he touches he fertilizes. In the next volume he reviews Madoc, William Taylor reviewed Madoc (1805) in the Annual Review for 1805, 4
(1806), 604–613. who has been abused beyond all bounds in the Monthly John
Ferriar (1761–1815; DNB) reviewed Madoc in the Monthly Review, n. s. 48 (October
1805), 113–122.xxx such clumsy malice as fairly to defeat itself. the passages quoted to be abused there & in the Edinburgh[Francis Jeffrey](people.html#JeffreyFrancis) reviewed Madoc in the Edinburgh
Review, 7 (October 1805), 1–29. struck Windham,William Windham
(1750–1810; DNB), Secretary for War and the Colonies, 1806–1807. so much that
he expressed great admiration to [Wynn](people.html#WynnCharlesWW) – & sent for the book. Surely you have it
from Barbadoes by this time. – The Spaniard Southey’s Letters from England by Don
Manuel Alvarez Espriella. Translated from the Spanish (1807). goes on well – about half done. I give to it
all the intervals of reviewing & shall have it published in the spring, when I must go to London, to get the Specimens Southey’s and Bedford’s jointly edited anthology, Specimens of the Later English
Poets (1807). concluded over which [Bedford](people.html#BedfordGrosvenorCharles) <will
then> have been dawdling eigh two compleat years!! – I mean to publish the history of the Cid in a little
volume Southey’s Chronicle of the Cid was published in 1808. –
with learned notes, full of Spanish erudition. All this will fill up my winter & spring After this year I review no more. – It
will be very hard if better employments should not pay me better. I do not regret the time thus far bestowed upon it, – by no
other means could I have acquired such facility of stile – it has been a useful apprenticeship, & has had also the advantage
of making me acquire much information, & looking into my own opinions upon many subjects on which I should not else have
thought. – No farther news of the sale of Madoc. the reviews will probably hurt it for a time – that is in their power & that
is all they can do. Unquestionably the Poem will stand & flourish. I am perfectly satisfied with the execution, – now eight
months after its publication, in my cool & self-distxxxting judgement. [W](people.html#TaylorWilliam)m Taylor has said it is the best English poem that has left the Press since the Paradise Lost.
indeed this is not exaggerated praise – for unfortunately there is no competition.
I want you grievously to tell Espriella stories about the navy, & give him a good idea of the present
state, The navy is discussed in Letter 76 of Letters from
England. which of course I cannot venture to do except very slightly & very cautiously, fully aware of my
own incompetence. Some of your own stories you will recognize. the book will be very amusing, & promises more profit than any
of my former works. Most praise I have had for Amadis, Southey’s translation of
Amadis of Gaul (1803). for the obvious reason that it excited no envy, – they who were aiming at
distinction as poets &c without success had no objection to allow that I could translate from the Spanish. But praise &
fame are two very distinct things. Nobody thinks the higher of me for that translation, or feels a wish to see me xxx
xxx for it, as they do for Joan of Arc & Thalaba. Southey’s poems
Joan of Arc (1st edn 1796, 2nd edn 1798, 3rd edn 1806), Thalaba the Destroyer (1801).
Poor Thalaba got abused in every review except the Critical Reviews of Thalaba the
Destroyer were: British Critic, 18 (September 1801), 309–310; Monthly Mirror, 12
(October 1801), 243–247; Francis Jeffrey, Edinburgh Review, 1 (October 1802), 63–83; Monthly
Review, 39 (November 1802), 240–251; Anna Seward, The Poetical Register, and Repository for Fugitive
Poetry, for 1801 (London, 1802), pp. 475–486; William Taylor, Critical Review, 2nd series, 39
(December 1803), 369–379. – & yet there has not any poem of the age excited half the attention, or won half the
admiration that that has. I am fairly up the hill.
[Little Edith](people.html#SoutheyEdithMay) looks at the picture of the Ships in the Cyclopædia Ephraim Chambers’ (1680?–1740; DNB) Cyclopedia, or, An Universal Dictionary
of Arts and Sciences, which was first published in 1728 and reprinted many times in the eighteenth century. An
expanded edition, updated by Abraham Rees (1743–1825; DNB), was published from 1778–1788. & listens
to the story how she has a poor Uncle who lives in a ship, & loves her dearly & sends her a kiss in a letter. She is a
plain child – but you would love her very dearly – I never saw a more promising intellect. – the profile came safe & highly do
I value it. – [Rickman](people.html#RickmanJohn) has taken himself a [Rickwoman](people.html#RickmanSusannah). I have not yet seen her, but expect to be her guest in March or April. – [Harry](people.html#SoutheyHenryHerbert) at Edinburgh, fagging Law for his degree in July. – [Coleridge](people.html#ColeridgeSamuelTaylor) daily expected in England, & his return notwithstanding as
uncertain as ever. Coleridge was acting as Public Secretary to the British Civil
Commissioner in Malta and though due to return, he did not arrive back in England until August 1806.[Charles of Antwerp](people.html#DanversCharles) well – do you write to him? he has sent you a set of Couriers
with the Annual Review. Poor Cupid A dog, formerly belonging to Southey and entrusted to
Danvers. has been hung at last for robbing a hen roost! Your three half-crown sticks you see were bestowed upon him in
vain. He is the first of all my friends who ever came to the gallows – & Heaven send that one of our relations may not one day
or other follow him! – I am very sorry for him, – poor fellow – I was his godfather. – Of Joe Thomas Southey’s dog, who was being looked after by Danvers. the last accounts were good. Thus have I
turned my memory inside out to rummage out all the news for you & little enough it is. We live here in the winter as much out
of the way of all society as if we were cruising at sea. From November till June not a soul do we see – except perhaps [Wordsworth](people.html#WordsworthWilliam) once or twice during the time. Of course it is my working season,
& I get thro a great deal. – [Ediths](people.html#FrickerEdith) love – God bless you Tom –
RS.