[71] Mr. Southey in a letter to me, dated May 13, 1799, thus writes:
"Arch, who purchased of you the first edition of Wordsworth's 'Lyrical
Ballads,' tells me, that he expects to lose by them!"
It reflects credit on Hannah More, to whom I had presented the first
volume, that she immediately perceived the merits of the "Lyrical
Ballads." On my visiting Barley Wood soon after, she said to me, "Your
young friend Wordsworth, surpasses all your other young friends," when
producing the book, she requested me to read several of the poems, which
I did, to the great amusement of the ladies. On concluding, she said, "I
must hear 'Harry Gill,' once more." On coming to the words, "O, may he
never more be warm!" she lifted up her hands, in smiling horror.
[72] The house of the Pneumatic Institution was situated in Dowry Square,
Hotwells; the house in the corner, forming the north-east angle of the
Square.
[73] Mr. Davy often asked me to attend his experiments, at the Wells, and
as an evidence of the zeal with which he wished to induce as many as he
could to pursue his favourite chemistry, in consequence of my taking
great interest in his proceedings, he urged me to pursue chemistry, as a
science. To prove that he was in earnest, he bought for me a box of
chemical tests, acids, alkalies, glass tubes, retorts, blow-pipe, trough,
&c. &c. and assisted me in some of my first experiments. The trough I
occasionally use at the present time.
[74] This young Philosopher was suspected to be Mr. Davy, himself.
[75] The late Archdeacon Wrangham.
[76] Afterwards incorporated in another poem.
[77] These three initials would be the proper S. T. C. affixed to his
garments.
[78] This account of Mr. Coleridge's military life, I read to Mr. Wade,
who remarked that the greater part of what he had heard, Mr. Coleridge
had, at different times, repeated to him. Mr. W. having been an old and
steady friend of Mr. C. I expressed a desire that, he would read the
whole MS. Memoir thoughtfully, in my presence, on successive mornings,
and, without hesitation, dissent, if he thought it needful, from any of
my statements. He afterwards remarked, "I have read deliberately the
whole manuscript with intense interest, as all who knew Coleridge will,
and, I think, those who knew him not. It is Coleridge himself,
undisguised. All the statements I believe to be correct. Most of them I
know to be such. There is nothing in this Memoir of our friend to which I
object; nothing which I could wish to see omitted." He continued, "With
respect to those letters relating to opium, I think you would be
unfaithful, if you were to suppress them: but that letter addressed to
me, must be published, (according to Mr. Coleridge's solemn injunction,)
either by you, or myself. The instruction to be derived from this and his
penitential letters addressed to you, is incalculable. All my friends
unite with me in this opinion."
Mr. W. related, at this time, one circumstance, received by him from Mr.
Coleridge, which was new to me, and which is as follows. One of the men
in Mr. C.'s company, had, it appeared a bad case of the small pox, when
Mr. C. was appointed to be his _nurse_, night and day. The fatigue and
anxiety, and various inconveniences, involved in the superintendence on
this his sorely diseased comrade, almost sickened him of hospital
service; so that one or two more such cases would have reconciled him to
the ranks, and have made him covet, once more, the holiday play of
rubbing down his horse.
[79] At the time Mr. Coleridge belonged to the 15th Light Dragoons, the
men carried carbines, in addition to swords and pistols. More recently, a
shorter gun has been substituted, called a fusce.
[80] Mr. Stoddart was a gentleman of whom he often talked, and spoke
feelingly of Mr. S.'s chagrin, in the earlier part of his professional
career. Briefs were then scarce, yet one evening an attorney called with
the object of his desire, but Mr. S. was not at home, and the urgency of
the case required it to be placed in other hands. This was long a subject
of lamentation to the young barrister, and also to his friends; but
success followed.
[81] Mr. Coleridge sustained one serious loss, on quitting Malta, which
he greatly deplored. He had packed in a large case, all his books and
MSS. with all the letters received by him during his residence on the
island. His directions were, to be forwarded to England, by the first
ship; with Bristol, as its ultimate destination. It was never received,
nor could he ever learn what became of it. It may be lying at this moment
in some custom-house wareroom, waiting for the payment of the duty! Of
which Mr. C. probably was not aware.
[82] It was a remarkable quality in Mr. Coleridge's mind, that _edifices_
excited little interest in him. On his return from Italy, and after
having resided for some time in _Rome_, I remember his describing to me
the state of society; the characters of the Pope and Cardinals; the
gorgeous ceremonies, with the superstitions of the people, but not one
word did he utter concerning St. Peter's, the Vatican, or the numerous
_antiquities_ of the place. As a further confirmation, I remember to have
been with Mr. Coleridge at York on our journey into Durham, to see Mr.
Wordsworth, when, after breakfast at the inn, perceiving Mr. C. engaged,
I went out alone, to see the York Minster, being, in the way, detained in
a bookseller's shop. In the mean time, Mr. C. having missed me, he set
off in search of his companion. Supposing it _probable_ that I was gone
to the _Minster_, he went up to _the door_ of that magnificent structure,
and inquired of the porter, whether such an individual as myself had gone
in there. Being answered in the negative, he had _no further curiosity_,
not even _looking_ into the _interior_, but turned away to pursue his
search! so that Mr. C. left York, without beholding, or wishing to
behold, the chief attraction of the city, or being at all conscious that
he had committed by his neglect, _high treason against all architectural
beauty!_ This deficiency in his regard for edifices, while he was
feverishly alive to all the operations of _mind_, and to all intellectual
inquiries, formed a striking and _singular_ feature in Mr. Coleridge's
mental constitution worthy of being noticed.
[83] It was a favourite citation with Mr. Coleridge, "I in them, and thou
in me, that they all may he one in us."
[84] In corroboration of this remark, an occurrence might be cited, from
the Life of Sir Humphry, by his brother, Dr. Davy.--Sir Humphry, in his
excursion to Ireland, at the house of Dr. Richardson, met a large party
at dinner, amongst whom, were the Bishop of Raphoe, and another
Clergyman. A Gentleman, one of the company, in his zeal for Infidelity,
began an attack on Christianity, (no very gentlemanly conduct) not
doubting but that Sir H. Davy, as a Philosopher, participated in his
principles, and he probably anticipated, with so powerful an auxiliary,
an easy triumph over the cloth. With great confidence he began his
flippant sarcasms at religion, and was heard out by his audience, and by
none with more attention than by Sir Humphry. At the conclusion of his
harangue, Sir H. Davy, instead of lending his _aid_, entered on a
comprehensive defence of Christianity, 'in so fine a tone of eloquence'
that the Bishop stood up from an impulse similar to that which sometimes
forced a whole congregation to rise at one of the impassioned bursts of
Massillon.
The Infidel was struck dumb with mortification and astonishment, and
though a guest for the night, at the assembling of the company the next
morning at breakfast, it was found that he had taken _French leave_, and
at the earliest dawn had set off for his own home.
[85] The father's remark on the occasion was, "There's an end of him! A
fine high-spirited fellow!"
[86] Perhaps, the most valuable production of Mr. Foster, as to style and
tendency, is the Essay which he prefixed to the Glasgow edition of
Doddridge's "Rise and Progress of Religion." Mr. F. having sent me a
letter relating to the above Essay, just as it was completed, it may not
be unacceptable to the Reader; where he will behold a fresh instance of
the complex motives, in which the best of human productions often
originate.
"Sept. 10, 1825.
My dear sir,
I am truly sorry not to have seen you, excepting on one short evening for
so long a time, and as I expect to go on Monday next to Lyme, I cannot be
content without leaving for you a line or two, as a little link of
continuity, if I may so express it, in our friendly communications. The
preventive cause of my not seeing you, has been the absolute necessity of
keeping myself uninterruptedly employed to finish a literary task which
had long hung as a dead weight on my hands.
Dr. Chalmers some three years since started a plan of reprinting in a
neat form a number of respectable religious works, of the older date,
with a preliminary Essay to each, relating to the book, or to any
analagous topic, at the writer's discretion. The Glasgow booksellers,
Chalmers and Collins, the one the Doctor's brother, and the other his
most confidential friend, have accordingly reprinted a series of perhaps
now a dozen works, with essays, several by Dr. C.; several by Irving; one
by Wilberforce; one by Daniel Wilson, &c. &c. I believe Hall, and
Cunningham promised their contributions. I was inveigled into a similar
promise, more than two years since. The work strongly urged on me for
this service, in the first instance, was "Doddridge's Rise and Progress,"
and the contribution was actually promised to be furnished with the least
possible delay, on the strength of which the book was immediately printed
off--and has actually been lying in their warehouse as dead stock these
two years. I was admonished and urged again and again, but in spite of
the mortification, and shame, which I could not but feel, at these
occasioning the publisher a positive loss, my horror of writing, combined
with ill health, invincibly prevailed, and not a paragraph was written
till toward the end of last year, when I did summon resolution for the
attempt. When I had written but a few pages, the reluctant labour was
interrupted, and suspended, by the more interesting one of writing those
letters to our dear young friend, your niece. (Miss Saunders.) Not of
course that this latter employment did not allow me time enough for the
other, but by its more lively interest it had the effect of augmenting my
disinclination to the other. Soon after her removal, I resumed the task,
and an ashamed to acknowledge such a miserable and matchless slowness of
mental operation, that the task has held me confined ever since, till
actually within these few days. I believe that nothing but a strong sense
of the duty of fulfilling my engagement, and of not continuing to do a
real injury to the publishers, could have constrained me to so much time
and toil. The article is indeed of the length of nearly one half of
Doddridge's book, but many of my contemporary makers of sentences, would
have produced as much with one fifth part of the time and labour. I have
aimed at great correctness and condensation, and have found the labour of
revisal and transcription not very much less than that of the substantial
composition. The thing has been prolonged, I should say spun out to three
times the length which was at first intended, or was required. It has
very little reference to the book which it accompanies; has no special
topic, and is merely a serious inculcation of the necessity of Religion
on young persons, and men of the world. In point of merit, (that you know
is the word in such matters) I rate it very moderately, except in respect
to correctness, and clearness of expression. If it do not possess this
quality, a vast deal of care and labour has been sadly thrown away. I
suppose the thing is just about now making up to be sent from the
publishers' warehouse. I shall have a little parcel of copies, and shall
presume to request the acceptance of one in Dighton Street.
My dear sir, I am absolutely ashamed to have been led into this length of
what is no better than egotism, when I was meaning just in five lines, to
tell what has detained me from the pleasure of seeing you.... My dear
sir.
Yours most truly,