Correspondence

331.  EBB to Hugh Stuart Boyd

As published in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 2, 180–181.

Hope End.

Jany 10th 1829.

I return “Master Boyd’s” letter to him, with my thanks for his allowing me to read it. Some parts of it do not seem to me applicable; even if I make the broadest allowances for humour on his correspondent’s side, & good-humour on his own; but altogether, it amused me & made me smile. I hope I have not kept it too long. I would have written before, if I had not been dependent on my brother’s calling at Woodland Lodge,—& if there had been anything which required an earlier answer in the accompanying letter. The only question it contained, was answered by me, lately. It is unnecessary for me to say that I would rather talk to you than write to you; and that makes me wish you were nearer. Under any circumstances I could not do otherwise than receive pleasure from seeing yourself & your family,—& if you were nearer, I might see you here. I assure you, I have been no where yet, out of our own grounds. It is natural, I think, that I should be unwilling, yet, to do so; it is natural, I am sure, that I should visit you, when I can visit anybody.

In the meantime, do not write again—for it has become quite evident to me that you are tired of it. Hæc hactenus! [1]

I was glad to hear from you, of Miss Boyd’s looking so well,—& I hope to hear from my brother, a continued good report of you all.

My kind regards to Mrs Boyd, & Miss Boyd.

Ever yours very sincerely

E B Barrett

Sir Uvedale Price has had a letter from Mr Charles Butler,—Southey’s Papistical opponent, [2] —asserting in toto to the accentual reformation. Perhaps you may be interested in hearing this: for tho’ Mr Butler be of no classical notoriety, that I know of, he is universally estimated as a man of acute & vigorous intellect.

Jany 15th

I open my letter for the purpose of speaking of your note, which I received yesterday evening. I don’t wonder that you should wonder at not having had an answer from me, in the course of three weeks. Did you conjecture that I was wearied of writing much,—or, (according to a somewhat different, tho’,—perhaps, not always inapplicable collocation)—much wearied of writing?

You will find by the contents of this letter, why it was not written before,—& by its date, that I intended it to go to you, before. My brother was actually on the road; but the rain came on, before he reached the entrance gate; & forced him to return. Now, I do not know whether, after all, I shall be able to send my letter by him,—for he is likely to be prevented from going to Malvern at present, on account of the unexpected arrival here, of Mr Clarke, (of Kinnersley Castle) [3] yesterday.

You see my transgression was not voluntary. Forgive & forget it!

I was very glad to find that you liked May. [4] I thought you would,—& yet I had in my head, an anathema of yours against modern Latin & Greek poetry. What you write, you shouldn’t refuse to read.

Address, on integral page: Hugh Stuart Boyd Esqr / Woodland Lodge / Malvern.

Publication: EBB-HSB, pp. 65–66.

Manuscript: Wellesley College.

1. “So much for that!” (Cicero, Ad Atticum, XIV, I, 1, 10).

2. In 1824, Robert Southey (1774–1843) had published The Book of the Church, a series of episodes in English ecclesiastical history. This produced counter-arguments, in the form of a series of letters from Charles Butler (1750–1832), published as The Book of the Roman Catholic Church (1825). Southey’s rejoinder was Vindiciæ Ecclesiæ Anglicanæ (1826).

3. EBB’s uncle, John Altham Graham-Clarke.

4. Probably Thomas May’s Supplementum Lucani (see letters 279 and 316).

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