LETTER 248

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“TheWorksofCharlesandMaryLamb—Volume5（.shg.tw）”

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LETTER248

CHARLESLAMBTOWILLIAMWORDSWORTH

[P.M.June7，1819.]

MydearWordsworth，youcannotimaginehowproudwearehereoftheDEDICATION.Wereadittwiceforoncethatwedothepoem—Imeanallthrough—yetBenjaminisnomonfavorite—thereisaspiritofbeautifultoleranceinit—itisasgoodasitwasin1806—andwillbeasgoodin1829ifourdimeyesshallbeawaketoperuseit.

Methinksthereisakindofshadowingaffinitybetweenthesubjectofthenarrativeandthesubjectofthededication—butIwillnotenterintopersonalthemes—else，substituting***********forBen，andtheHonbleUnitedCompanyofMerchtstradingtotheEastIndiesfortheMasterofthemisusedTeam，itmightseembynofarfetchedanalogytopointitsdimwarningshitherward—butIrejecttheomen—especiallyasitsimportseemstohavebeendivertedtoanothervicti

PoorTommyBye，whomIhaveknown（asIexpressditinalettertoManning），manandmadman27years—hewasmygossipinLeadenhallSt.—buttoomuchaddictedtoturninataredlattice—camewanderingintohisandmymonsceneofbusiness—youhaveseentheorderlyplace—reelingdrunkatnineoClock-withhisfaceofadeepblue，contractedbyafilthydowlasmuckingerwhichhadgivenupitsdyetohispooroozyvisnomy—andshorttotell，afterplayingvariouspranks，laughingloudlaughtersthreemadexplosionstheywere—inthefollowingmorningthe"

tearstoodinhiseye"

—forhefoundhisabusedineofclear￡600inexorablyreducedto￡100—hewasmydeargossip—alas!Benjamin!…

Iwillneverwriteanotherletterwithalternateinks.Youcannotimaginehowitcrampstheflowofthestyle.IcanconceivePindar（Idonotmeantoparemyself[to]him）bythemandofHiero，theSiciliantyrant（wasnothethetyrantofsomeplace?fieonmyneglectofhistory—）conceivehimbymandofHiero，orPerillus，setdowntopenanaIsthmianorNemeanPanegyreinlinesalternateredandblack.Imaintainhecouldnthavedoneit—itwouldhavebeenastraitlacedtorturetohismuse，hewouldhavecalldfortheBullforarelief.NeithercouldLycidas，ortheChorics（howdoyouliketheword?）ofSamsonAgonistes，havebeenwrittenwithtwoinks.Yourcoupletswithpoints，EpiloguestoMr.H.s，&c.mightbeevenbenefitedbythetwyfount.Whereoneline（thesecond）isforpoint，andthefirstforrhime，Ithinkthealternationwouldassist，likeamould.Imaintainit，youcouldnothavewrittenyourstanzasonpreexistencewith2inks.Tryanother，andRogerstheBanker，withhissilverstandishhavingoneinkonly，IwillbetmyOdeonTobacco，againstthePleasuresofMemory—andHopetoo—shallputmorefervorofenthusiasmintothesamesubjectthanyoucanwithyourtwo—heshalldoitstanspedeinunoasitwere.

TheWaggonerisveryillputupinboards，atleastitseemstomealwaystoopenatthededication—butthatisamechanicalfault.

Ire-readtheWhiteDoeofRylston—thetitleshouldbealwayswrittenatlength—asMarySabillaNovello，averynicewomanofouracquaintance，alwayssignshersatthebottomoftheshortestnote.Marytoldher，ifhernamehadbeenMaryAnn，shewouldhavesignedM.A.Novello，orM.only，droppingtheA—whichmakesmethink，withsomeothertriflings，thatsheunderstandssomethingofhumannature.Mypengoesgallopingonmostrhapsodically，gladtohaveescapedthebondageofTwoInks.

Manninghadjustsentithomeanditcameasfreshtomeastheimmortalcreatureitspeaksof.M.sentithomewithanote，havingthispassageinit，"

IcannothelpwritingtoyouwhileIamreadingWordswthspoeIamgotintothe3rdCanto，andsaythatitraisesmyopinionofhimverymuchindeed.Tisbroad;noble;poetical;withamasterlyscanningofhumanactions，absolutelyabovemonreaders.Whatamanly（implied）interpretationof（bad）party-actions，astramplingthebible，&c."

—andsohegoeson.

IdonotknowwhichIlikebest，theprologue（thelatterpartspecially）toP.Bell，ortheEpiloguetoBenjamin.Yes，Itellstories，Idoknow.Ilikethelastbest，andtheWaggoneraltogetherasapleasanterremembrancetomethantheItinerant.Ifitwerenot，thepagebeforethefirstpagewouldandoughttomakeitso.

Thesonnetsarenotallnewtome.Ofwhatare，the9thIlikebest.ThankyouforthattoWalton.Itakeitasafavordonetome，that，beingsooldadarlingofmine，youshouldbeartestimonytohisworthinabookcontainingaDEDI——

Icannotwritethevainwordatfulllengthanylonger.

Ifasyousay，theWaggonerinsomesortcameatmycall，OforapotentvoicetocallforththeReclusefromhisprofoundDormitory，wherehesleepsforgetfulofhisfoolishchargeTheWorld.

HadIthreeinksIwouldinvokehim!

TalfourdhaswrittenamostkindReviewofJ.Woodvil，&c.，intheChampion.Heisyourmostzealousadmirer，insolitudeandincrowds.H.CrabbeRobinsongivesmeanydearPrintsthatIhappentoadmire，andIlovehimforitandforotherthings.Alsagershallhavehiscopy，butatpresentIhavelentitforadayonly，notchusingtopartwithmyown.Maryslove.Howdoyoualldo，amanuensesboth—maritalandsororal?

C.LAMB.

[WordsworthhadjustputforthTheWaggoner，whichwasdedicatedto

Lambinthefollowingterms:—

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