The name and addresses of the publishers, ‘Barrauds Limited, 263, Oxford St., London, & 92, Bold St., Liverpool’, are printed on the mount.
Transcript
Farringford, Freshwater, Isle of Wight
April 4th 1873
Sir,
I beg to enclose a cheque for 10£ if I may be allowed to offer this small contribution to the Sedgwick Memorial.
I have the honour to be
Your very obedient servant
A Tennyson
Thanks Nora for 'the old letters', of which he keeps a few 'for old time's sake.' Henry Sidgwick: A Memoir is 'full of interest'; wishes that there was more of the correspondence with Tennyson on English versification. Discusses the make-up of English verse. Remarks on an observation in the book on moral problems, and to another remark on authors' disgust with their works. Refers also to Henry's 'abrupt dropping of Arabic', and remarks that he would have expected him to keep it as a recreation. Refers to having reluctantly given up Sanskrit himself, and reports that a tour in the west of Ireland has set him 'dabbling in Gaelic....'
Pollock, Sir Frederick (1845-1937), 3rd Baronet, juristThanks for Monographs; those commemorated 'could desire no kinder or abler Chronicler'.
98 Grenfell Road, Maidenhead, Berks. - Thanks Trevelyan for the 'kind letter' and poems ["From the Shiffolds"]; mentions the 'fortunate little dear boy' [Trevelyan's grandson Philip, addressee of a poem']. Wonders whether he knows Lord de Tabley's poetry; thinks de Tabley would have liked some of the poems. Her father's first wife was Meriel Leicester Warren, de Tabley's sister. De Tabley's poetry has not sufficiently appreciated, either in his lifetime or afterwards; quotes descriptions of him by Tennyson and Sir Edmund Gosse. Describes the 'very drab & dusty grey little interior' of the house with no heating, electric, gas or hot water where she lives; a 'real little cottage of despair' where she and her companion Mrs Hill needed to 'take refuge, from far worse'. The small back yard holds a 'dread ful little party of evil looking, grinning deformed, gnomes' who resemble the 'little jailors' of [George du Maurier's] "Peter Ibbotson"
Depicts Tennyson in 1888. "The Beguiling of Merlin" by Sir Edward Burne-Jones. Value: 24p. Release date: 10 March 1992.
Royal Mail Group plcStocks Cottage, Tring. - Has sent on a cheque from Robert with one of his own; hopes they will 'buy a nice acre, lots of bracken and birches and part of a beck'. Agrees that the landlords may 'blackmail' them, but every policy has dangers. So far the Society [National Trust?] is only buying land threatened by building. The proposed Academic Committee of the Royal Society of Literature seems 'likely to be a harmless, if useless and unimportant, body', whose object is to 'prevent the fatuous dons who compose the so called 'British Academy' from posing as the official representation of Literature', as for the Tennyson centenary and the death of [George] Meredith.
Rossetti's poem was written about Francis McCracken, a Belfast shipowner and early Pre-Raphaelite patron.
48 letters to W. H. Thompson dated 1831-1866, and 1 letter addressed to [John] Allen dated 24 Aug. 1840. Names mentioned in the accompanying calendar of the letters include Henry Alford; John Allen; Robert Leslie Ellis; Edward FitzGerald; Arthur Hallam; Walter Savage Landor; Samuel Laurence; Richard Monckton Milnes, Lord Houghton; Stephen Spring Rice; Sir Henry Taylor; Robert John Tennant; Alfred, Lord Tennyson; Charles Tennyson [later Turner]; and William Wordsworth. Spedding also refers to his work on Francis Bacon.
With a further 35 letters to William Aldis Wright and William George Clark, dated 1862-1881. Letters to William George Clark date from 1862 to 1864 and relate to collations of Shakespeare's plays. Letters from 1881 to William Aldis Wright relate to Frederick James Furnivall, with copies of Spedding's letters to Furnivall, and one letter from Furnivall to Spedding dated 26 Feb. 1881. Accompanied by a mechanical copy of the Northumberland Manuscript.
Green leather volume, with embossing and gold decoration. Printed illustration from 'Happy New Year' card pasted to inside front cover. Bookplate, 'Ex Libris Bryan William James Hall', with coat of arms and illustration, pasted to front free endpaper.
Numerous autographs, mostly in the form of ends of letters and addresses on envelopes, pasted into book. Notes beneath items (sometimes also pasted in) often identify writers. Complete letters etc have been described in individual records dependent to this one, referenced by their folio numbers; signatures and addressees are referenced by linked authority record only. Some names remain undeciphered or unidentified.
Compiled by a sister of C. W. King, see part letter from King on f. 14r, 'I enclose the autograph of a distinguished Grecian for your book. With love I am, my dear Sister, yours affect[ionate]ly C. W. King'. Although no first name appears, C. W. King's only sister appears to have been Anne, sometimes known as Annette (1824-1874). A letter from W. G. Clark to C. W. King, preserved on the verso of the flyleaf, was sent with 'some autographs for your friend', and there are also envelopes and letters addressed to William Aldis Wright and other members of Trinity suggesting King was actively gathering material for his sister. The bulk of the collection appears to have been assembled between the late 1860s and early 1870s.
King, Anne Hawes (c 1822-1874), sister of Charles William KingEngineer-in-Chief's Office, General Post Office, E.C. - Will send publication refuting Rufus Griswold's allegations against Edgar Allan Poe; is writing own biography in defence of Poe. Poe's sister Rosalie is living in Baltimore in great poverty; requests contribution; Tennyson, Swinburne and Rossetti have promised aid.
Detailed description of a short visit to see Alfred, Lord Tennyson.
Two sepia washes depicting a group of travelling companions on board a steamer, with an accompanying exhibition catalogue, "An exhibition of watercolours and drawings by John Harden" published by The Arts Council, 1951. One watercolour, measuring 13.4 x 20.9 cm, carries a caption on the verso, "Sketch taken on board the steamer Leeds from Bordeaux to Dublin; 10th Sept. 1830. J. H." The exhibition catalogue identifies the figures as Jessy Harden (wife), Jane and Jessie (daughters), Hallam reads aloud a new 'Waverley', Tennyson in top hat. The other watercolour, measuring 13.2 x 20.9 cm, is not captioned on the verso, but is described as depicting the Misses Harden, Tennyson in cape and top hat, Mr Robertson and Mr Glasgow.
Harden, John (1772-1847) watercolouristAt the back of the volume are drafts for memorial brasses for William Hepworth Thompson and Coutts Trotter, and a Latin and a Greek translation of Tennyson's "Crossing the Bar."
Sending a parcel to Spedding, congratulations to Blakesley, thanks him for a copy of Tennyson's "Timbuctoo", "beauties of Shelley" recently published and any hand that Blakesley may have had in it
Bamff. Visit to Bamff, 102nd anniversary of Tennyson's birth to be celebrated.
Is 'out of reach of the bulk of [his] books, not to mention the Athenaeum and the London Library' but says there is 'a good deal about the Metaphysical Society up and down various recent memoirs': mentions Leslie Stephen's life of James Fitzjames Stephen and Wilfrid Ward's book about his father W.G. Ward. Sees no reason why Sir James Knowles, who has the minute book of the society, should not be willing to let Nora see it. States that Shadworth Hodgson is about the only living person who was an active member before he [Pollock] joined the society. Does not think that there is much relevant information on it in Huxley's biography, but suggests that it would be worthwhile to look. States that Dr Martineau was the last chairman of the society.
Remarks that it was surprising that its members stayed together for so long, and states that the Synthetic Society is 'a kind of modified revival of it.' Does not believe that Henry Sidgwick came to the society's meetings often during Pollock's time, but states that he had many better opportunities for discussion with him outside the society. Relates that at one time Knowles 'thought or preferred to think the [society] was going to define the fundamental terms of philosophy and prepare the way for a general agreement', and states that the members certainly were not up to such a task. Refers also to a plan that he and Henry had around 1897 to set up 'a smaller speculative club or brother-hood with enough common tendency to hold it together but no dogmas', but it came to nothing. Is glad that Nora liked his review [of Henry's The Development of European Polity]; states that he was especially impressed by 'the excellence of the medieval part.' Adds that 'the Society was intended to satisfy Tennyson concerning the immortality of the soul', and states that he believes that the latter attended one meeting.
Three letters from H. M. Butler, two from John Venn, and one from William Aldis Wright.
H. M. Butler asks if Darwin would consider contributing to the purchase price of the original MS of "Poems by Two Brothers" by Charles and Alfred Tennyson in a letter dated 13 Dec. 1893. Darwin is asked to contribute to the purchase of something else [a medal?] in May 1896 and is thanked later that week, with the suggestion that his great-great grandson donate Darwin's medal to the Library. A letter from William Aldis Wright (9 May 1896) suggests that Darwin's emissary wait until he is a Fellow to cycle down the Avenue at Trinity.
Two letters from John Venn refer to the provenance of astrolabes and one letter dated 25 Dec. 1895 refers to something that happened the week before that has made him feel he is in a nightmare.
Darwin, Sir George Howard (1845-1912), knight, mathematician and geophysicist59 Montagu Square, W. - Is glad Wright will write the [death] notice for Edward FitzGerald: he is 'quite the best person for it'.
Quotes from a note he received this morning from Tennyson: 'I had no true friend - he was one of the kindliest of men & I have never known one of so fine & delicate a wit'. I had written a poem to him the last week, a dedication, which he will never see. There are now left to me only two or three of my old college companions & who goes next?'
Bamff. Visit to Bamff, H. M. Butler's paper on Tennyson.
Contains enquiries on Tennyson's time at Trinity, and thinking ahead to his death. With letter, 30 Oct. 1940, from Bevan's brother Edwyn to the Master of Trinity (G. M. Trevelyan).
Album containing over 250 letters, notes, documents, unaccompanied envelopes, printed items, and photographic prints carrying the handwriting and/or autographs of sovereigns, prelates, government ministers, peers, authors, and Trinity College masters and professors, with a few unusual items in addition. The material appears to have been largely culled from the correspondence of George Peacock, his wife Frances Peacock, her father William Selwyn, and her second husband William Hepworth Thompson, with a few unrelated items. Most date from the 19th century but there are a few items from the 18th century.
Among those represented are King George III, Charles Babbage, E.W. Benson, the 15th Earl of Derby, the 7th Duke of Devonshire, W. E. Gladstone, Lord Houghton, Charles Kingsley, H. W. Longfellow, Lord Macaulay, Sir Robert Peel, John Ruskin, Adam Sedgwick, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Anthony Trollope, and William Whewell; there are in addition a miniature handwritten Lord's Prayer in a circle no larger than 15mm across, a carte-de-visite photograph souvenir 'balloon letter' from the Paris siege of 1870 with an image of the newspaper 'La Cloche', and a photographic print of Lane's portrait of George Peacock.
Ellis, Mary Viner (1857-1928) great-niece of George PeacockFarringford. Hallam Tennyson's memoir of his father, remembers playing battledore with Tennyson.
Largely drawn from Fitzgerald's letters, with dates.
ADD.MS.a/6/48 quotes from a FitzGerald letter of 26 Jan [1872] on 'Shakespeare's names'.
ADD.MS.a/6/52 gives quotes from FitzGerald letters on W. B. Donne; Boulge Hall, Lord Tennyson and [Sir Frederick?] Pollock.
Concerning the purchase of Woolner's bust of Tennyson.
Includes the words that Henry would like to have said over his grave 'if it is decided not to have the Church of England service': 'Let us commend to the love of God with silent prayer the soul of a sinful man who partly tried to do his duty. It is by his wish that I say over his grave these words and no more'. Note that this was 'written down May 17 1900'.
Verses 'adopted by Henry Sidgwick. from Tennyson's Palace of Art when he left the Church of England in 1869', beginning with the lines: 'Yet pull not down my minster towers that were/So gravely gloriously wrought'. Page headed 'Henry's Texts', including [biblical] quotations.
Page headed 'Re new edition of Ethics'. Henry's desire is that, if he is not able to finish the revision, The Methods of Ethics 'be put through the press by Miss [E..E. C.] Jones without excerpts [he has] clearly indicated in the book itself or [his] MS notes of lectures that an alteration is required'. Suggests also the addition of a brief explanatory preface.
Additional notes relate to his works and the possibility of their publication. Believes that some of his philosophical works in which he attempts to define the scope of philosophy and its relation to, for example, psychology, logic, history and sociology, are most suitable for publication and study. Refers to a course of lectures on Kant, Green and Spencer 'which will be [more] easily brought out'. Refers also to a course of lectures on epistemology, which was delivered with Sigwart's Logic as a text book, and believes that part of it might be worth publishing. Suggests that [James] Ward might recommend someone who would read these works in order to select the portions he thought worth publishing. Insists, however, that Ward should not spend time on the matter that could be more profitably devoted to his own work. Discusses the difficulties that might be encountered in the publishing of his philosophical lectures, and refers to the part concerned with the relation of metaphysics and epistemology. Refers also to 'a discussion of Külpe's use of the terms and another discussion on idealism and realism, 'which will be found in the bundle relating to Külpe. List of some of Henry's works.
Sidgwick, Henry (1838-1900), philosopher