The journey to Boston was followed by a three months' illness. A low
fever, of the typhoid kind, was part of the result of his trip into the
fen country, and of the sudden change of his diet, to which he had been
driven in the intercourse with the hospitable mayor and his friends. The
disease spread through his whole family, attacking each member in turn,
and for a moment threatening to be fatal to the youngest child. However,
all recovered in the end, though very gradually, it being not till
towards the spring of 1829 that the doctor's visits to the little hut
came to an end. The consequences of the illness did not end so soon.
Having been unable to do any work for months, and incurred, moreover,
great expenses for medical assistance and other items connected
therewith, Clare found himself now deeper than ever in debt, and with
scarcely any prospects of raising himself from his abject state of
poverty. Nevertheless, he struggled on bravely, once more trusting to his
pen and poetical inspiration. That book-hawking would not open the road
to success, but, if anything, lead him into an opposite direction, had
become clear to him by this time, and he resolved, therefore, to put
himself once more into communication with the editors of the annuals, so
as to earn a few shillings in writing poetry by the yard. In order to
extend the circle of his editorial acquaintances, he wrote letters to
several of his friends in London, notably to Mr. John Taylor and Allan
Cunningham. In the note to his publisher, the old grievance of Clare came
at length to be touched upon by him in an almost piteous manner. The poor
poet's inexperience of the world was strikingly shown in the tone as well
as contents of this letter, bearing date April 3d, 1829, and traced
apparently in a trembling hand.
After referring to his continued efforts to dispose of his books by means
of advertisements in the 'Stamford News,' with the appended doleful
remark: 'If I succeed in selling them, all well and good; if not, it will
not be the first disappointment I have met with,' Clare continues:--'And
now, my dear Taylor, I will, as a man of business, say what I have long
neglected to tell you. I never liked to refer to it; but it is a thing to
be done, and, be it as it may, it will never interfere in our friendship.
So I should like to know at your leisure how I stand with you in my
accounts, and my mind will be set at rest on that score at once. For if
there is anything owing to me it will be acceptable at any time, and if
there is nothing, I shall be content. The number printed of the first
three volumes I have known a long while by Drury's account; but whether I
have overrun the constable or not since then, I cannot tell, and that is
what I should like to know at the first opportunity. I hope you will not
feel offended at my mentioning the matter, as I do it with no other wish
than to make us greater and better friends, if possible.' Notwithstanding
this extreme humility of tone, Mr. John Taylor felt offended at the
letter of his 'Northamptonshire Peasant,'--and 'man of business' to boot.
He told the 'man of business' that he was asking indiscreet questions,
and recommended him once more to try success as a bagman, and to write
for the annuals in his spare hours. To assist him in the latter object,
Mr. Taylor was kind enough to recommend his poet to a Monsieur
Ventouillac, '14, Gumming Street, Pentonville;' an enterprising professor
of French, who was about entering upon the Souvenir and Keepsake
speculation. John Clare, all eagerness, wrote at once to Monsieur
Ventouillac, and was informed in return that the new annual, to be called
'The Iris,' would be published in the autumn, and that his 'offerings'
would be welcome. Thereupon he sat down to write at once a poem of
twenty-five verses, entitled, 'The Triumph of Time,' and sent it off in
great haste to 14, Gumming Street, Pentonville, with a request to forward
'the amount for the trifle inserted' at the earliest convenience. The
'Iris' made its appearance at the appointed time, as advertised, 'bound
in silk,' with numerous 'embellishments' got up regardless of expense.
But John Clare's 'Triumph of Time' was not in the 'Iris,' the able editor
having placed it among his waste papers, with a pencil note, 'to be
shortened one-half next year. 'The old MS. brown with age, has survived
the wreck of a thousand other manuscripts, and remains in the world,
melancholy to look at as a memorial of the fate of poetry and poets.
Clare's success with the annuals, now as formerly, was of a most
unsatisfactory nature. Acting upon Mr. Taylor's advice, he continued
sending verses to the wonderful periodicals, bound in silk, and got up
regardless of expense, but seldom received any money in return. Some took
his verses, and some did not; and nearly all forgot the fact of other
acknowledgment being due besides complimentary letters. Even Mr. Alaric
Watts, who had made Clare's personal acquaintance the year previous,
forgot his promise to insert one of his poems in the 'Literary Souvenir,'
preferring jingling rhyme manufactured to suit the 'embellishments.'
Almost the only one who took Clare's verses, as well as paid for them,
was brave Allan Cunningham, who stood fast to his friend amidst all the
deluge of silk-bound volumes. During the present summer, as in former
years, Clare continued his contributions, consisting, in this instance,
of several pastorals and sonnets, among them some verses dedicated to
Mrs. Emmerson. But, owing to Clare's rather illegible handwriting, Mr.
Cunningham misread the address of these lines, which so much affected the
poet that he wrote a long and curious note of explanation to Mrs.
Emmerson, 'My dear Eliza,' the note ran: 'I got a letter from friend
Cunningham yesterday, who tells me that my trifles suit him. Among them
are the verses to E. L. E. of which he makes a strange mistake by
fancying they are written to Miss Landon, and flatters me much by
praising them, and also by thinking them "worthy of the poetess." So I
wish that the first opportunity you have you would correct the mistake,
and if you feel the matter too delicate to write upon, you can tell the
Miss Frickers when they next call upon you. For he will most likely
change the E. L. E. to L. E. L. which I shall not be able to rectify if
he does not send me a proof sheet, and I would much rather that they
should stand as written. Proud as I am of brother Allan's commendation,
and proud as I should be of Miss Landon's commendation also, I feel much
prouder to know that they were deemed worthy the acceptance of yourself,
to whom they were dedicated. I will give you the quotation from Allan's
letter relating to the verses:--"I have placed your contributions in the
approved box, marked with my hearty approbation. Your verses to Miss
Landon are the very best you ever composed. After all, a flesh and blood
muse is best, and Miss Landon I must say is a very beautiful substitute
for these aerial mistresses. I shall show it to her." How Allan should
mistake E. L. E. for L. E. L., I cannot say; but in his hurry he must
have overlooked it, and I hope you will rectify the error. I did not tell
him to whom the verses were written, because I thought is was not
necessary, but I wish I had now power to prevent the mistake that may get
into the proofsheet, and remain there if not corrected--.' To judge by
the earnestness with which he dwells upon the subject, these little
troubles of authorship had nearly as deep an effect upon Clare's
sensitive mind as some of his real life-sorrows.
When Clare came to make up the account of his income derived from the
annuals, he found that his labours in this direction were less
remunerative than stone-breaking on the road would have been. He
thereupon determined to break his connexion with the silk-bound
periodicals, with the exception of two or three of the class, Allan
Cunningham's 'Anniversary' among the number. But with Allan, too, he had
occasion to find fault; not indeed for paying him too little, but too
highly. 'I do not,' he wrote to him, in 1829, 'expect pay by the foot or
page, but I like to give good measure and throw in an extra gratis. You
gave me too much for my last, and I hope you will keep that in mind next
year and not do so; for I never feel the loss of independence worse than
when I cannot serve a friend without knowing that I receive a recompense
in return far more than the labour is entitled to.' Allan Cunningham
responded nobly to this disinterested communication. He told his friend
that, though his poetry was of the highest excellence, he was a writer
altogether unfit for the annuals, and the great world of printers and
publishers. In half-playful and half-serious mood, he advised him to try
his hand again at farming, offering some assistance for the purpose.
Clare hesitated for a while; but having carefully considered the matter,
accepted the kindly help tendered by his friend. His chief hope was in
the expectation that he should be able to profit by past experience, and,
avoiding former errors, convert failure into success. So he took again a
small plot of land, for farming purposes, in the autumn of 1829.
There did not seem at first much prospect of good fortune in the new
speculation; nevertheless it turned out remarkably well in the end. Clare
had no sooner returned to his old labours in the field than his health
improved visibly; his mind became more cheerful, and everything around
him seemed to assume a bright and sunny look. His pecuniary
circumstances, too, improved considerably; small sums sufficient to pay
the most pressing of his debts, came in payment for his books; and even
the proprietor of a London annual had the extreme generosity to pay for
contributions sent to him three years previously. Best of all, he got
some regular employment on a farm belonging to Earl Fitzwilliam, which,
together with the cultivation of his own little plot of land, served to
fill up his whole time, leaving him no leisure for writing, but adding a
fair sum to his income. This enforced rest from his poetical labours
proved of the greatest benefit to Clare. The immense mass of verses which
he had produced within the last few years threatened to be highly
detrimental to his genius, in exhausting his mind, and destroying the
very sap of his poetical imagination. He required mental rest, more than
anything else; and this being not only given, but enforced in his new
occupation as both cottage-farmer and agricultural labourer, he found
himself almost suddenly a better, wiser, and more prosperous man. Clare
never spent a happier Christmas than that of 1829. With his little
baby-boy, now eighteen months old, on his knees, his Patty and four
eldest children around the table, and his aged parents seated comfortably
at the place of honour near the fireside, he thought himself truly
blessed, and on the very zenith of earthly joys. There was scarcely a
wish of his heart left for fulfilment, save, perhaps, the old dream to
possess a little strip of the surface of mother earth, and be a king on
his own land, instead of a serf labouring for others. It was the one
lasting dream of his life--a dream unfortunately never destined to be
realized.
The next twelve months of Clare's life were uneventful. He worked hard
and wrote little; and, with increasing bodily and mental health, got more
and more at ease in his worldly circumstances. Even his little attempt at
farming was not altogether unsuccessful, for though it did not bring much
direct gain, it secured to him the esteem of his neighbours, and a
feeling of self-dependence which he had never before known. When Patty
presented him with another baby--sixth in the list; baptized Sophia, on
the 3d of October, 1830--he felt by no means despondent as on a former
occasion, but joyful in the extreme. The dread vision of poverty, so long
before his eyes, had suddenly vanished, giving way to fancies of roseate
hue. He almost wondered why he had ever despaired--happiness, after all,
seemed so cheap and within such easy reach. There was wealth and health
sufficient springing from his daily labour, and abundant joy in the
constant sight of green fields, rippling brooks, and the smiling faces of
his little ones at home. And there was joy scarce ever known when sitting
down, at rare intervals, to the inspiration of the muse. Here was the
supreme bliss of existence. Clare knew that the poetry, offspring of
these happy hours, was far superior to anything that had ever flown from
his pen. He almost felt as if now, and now only, he was becoming a true
poet.
In truth, Clare never was a writer of perfect melodious verse till this
time. A poet he had always been--had been from the day when, a tottering
child, with senses scarce awakened, he thought to discover at the faint
outline of the distant horizon, the touch of heaven and earth. But
hitherto, and up to this period, the tumultuous inspiration of his soul
had never found vent in soft and even flow of language: the poet had
never been completely able to clothe noble thoughts into noble form. Want
of early training, with grief and care, and unceasing mental agitation,
had hemmed in on all sides the fair stream of his imagination, and the
bright flash of genius was hidden under more or less rugged form. It was
only now, that, having nursed his mind at the source of the great masters
of poetry, and enjoying harmonious peace and rest from cares in the calm
life of labour, that the outward form came to be mastered by the inward
spirit, as clay in the hands of the sculptor. The poet himself was
surprised at this momentous change, which came upon him with a suddenness
almost startling in its intensity. He had left off writing verses for
many months, devoting every moment of leisure to calm study, and happy
wanderings through, woods and fields, when one evening, with the setting
sun before his eyes, he felt a powerful longing to make one more attempt
in poetical composition. Full of this, feeling, he sat down at the
borders of Helpston Heath, lost in heavenly visions, and as he sat there
the verses came flowing from his pen:--
'Muse of the fields! Oft have I said farewell
To thee, my boon companion, loved so long,
And hung thy sweet harp in the bushy dell
For abler hands to wake an abler song--
* * * * *
Aye, I have heard thee in the summer wind,
As if commanding what I sung to thee;
Aye, I have seen thee on a cloud reclined,
Kindling my fancies into poesy;
I saw thee smile, and took the praise to me.
In beauties, past all beauty, thou wert drest:
I thought the very clouds around thee knelt,
I saw the sun did linger in the West
Paying thee worship; and as eve did melt
In dews, they seemed thy tears for sorrows I had felt.
Sweeter than flowers on beauty's bosom hung,
Sweeter than dreams of happiness above,
Sweeter than themes by lips of beauty, sung,
Are the young fancies of a poet's love.'
* * * * *
When Clare had written his song 'To the Rural Muse,' he went home and
kissed his children, and, it being full moon, kept working in his garden
for another couple of hours. And the next day, and for days after, he
kept on digging and planting, hoeing and ploughing, without ever touching
a pen. It was thus a great and noble poet grew out of the
'Northamptonshire Peasant.'