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Pforzheimer Collection, New York Public Library, G’ANA 0032. Previously published: Charles Cuthbert Southey (ed.), Life and Correspondence of Robert Southey, 6 vols (London, 1849-1850), II, pp. 167-171.
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.
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.
Dear Edith, in my last no direction was given. you will write under cover, & direct exactly in this form
the Right Honble
&c &c &c
this said personage I have not yet seen, whereby I was kept in a state of purportless idleness. he is gone to his own country, playing truant from business among his friends. tomorrow his return is probable. I like his character he does business well & with method, but loves his amusement better than business & prefers books to official papers. It does not appear that my work will be anyways difficult copying & letter writing which any body could do, if any body could be confidentially trusted. John Rickman is a great man in Dublin & in the eyes of the world, but not one jot altered from the John Rickman of Christ Church, save only that in compliance with an extorted promise he has deprived himself of the pleasure of [MS illegible] his head by putting powder on it. he has astonished the people about him – the government stationer hinted to him when he was giving an order, that if he wanted any thing in the pocket book way – he might as well put it down in the order. But he pulled his own – look Sir – I have bought one for two shillings. his predecessor admonished him not to let himself down by speaking to any of the clerks – why Sir – said John Rickman – I should not let myself down if I spoke to every man between this & the bridge – & so he goes on in his own right way. he has been obliged to mount up to the third story, before he could find a room small enough to sleep in – & there he led me to show me his government bed, which because it is a government bed contains stuff enough to make a dozen – the curtains being compleatly double & mattress piled upon mattress, so that tumbling out would be a dangerous fall. – About our quarters here when we remove hither in June, he will look out. the filth of the houses is intolerable – floors & furniture offending you with Portugueze nastiness. but it is a very fine city – a magnificent city – such public buildings & the streets so wide. for these advantages Dublin is indebted to the prodigal corruption of its own government. every member who asked money to make improvements got it – & if he got 20,000 pounds – in decency spent 5 for the public, & pocketed the rest. these gentlemen are now being hauled a little over the coals, & they have grace enough to thank God the Union did not take place sooner.
The Peaceaged to you Sir – if youll
plaise to ask Mr Abbotafter the first after a long series of dry weather. a servant of Dr
Lindsays
Did I send in my last the noble bull that Rickman heard? he was
late in company when a gentleman looked at his watch & cried it is tomorrow morning! – I must wish you good
night.
Rickman has received a sane letter from Burnett, who only plays off the desperato where it will produce an effect. Lamb writes that the person with whom he cohabits is a young surgeon & nephew to a great
wine merchant,
I shall send you no money, because I shall bring it. dear Edith I
wish I knew when – but certainly very soon. Mr Abbot goes in a few days & I should not think, nor is it thought
that Mr Corry will long remain after him. perhaps ten days – or a week may be the
utmost of my stay. the shorter the better. it is hateful to be alone. about my shirts. cloth is but sixpence a yard less than in
England, & to that amount at last I am sure to be cheated. is it not better wait till you can buy them for me? the people love a
little cheatery dealings. in the first shop which Rickman entered, he was asked 8
shillings & sixpence for what the man directly sold him at four shillings. I have bought no books yet – for lack of money. today
Rickman is engaged to dinner – & I am to seek for myself some ordinary or
chop house. this morning will clear off my letters, & I will make business a plea hereafter for writing fewer. tis a hideous waste
of time. – my love to Coleridge &c. I
will if indeed I do not write to him also.