371. EBB to Hugh Stuart Boyd
As published in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 2, 241–242.
Hope End.
Monday. [Docket: May 1830]
My dear Mr Boyd,
Your books & formes are perfectly safe from any heat or brightness of sunshine in any part of my room, for the sun never thinks of looking in upon me till the evening. Perhaps he knows how much I hate morning visits. You may be sure that I will take care of all your deposits. The most valuable one, Ann, was going to Malvern today with Arabel & me; but the rain anticipated us,—& now we can only hope for tomorrow & finer weather. If it is not fine then, I shall be very very sorry,—because Miss Price’s coming & staying will prevent my going to see you for some time longer—at least, longer than I like. Ann’s being quite well, is proved satisfactorily by her good looks & good spirits; & Mrs Boyd (tell her, with my love) shall soon judge of both. She & Arabel will certainly spend an hour at Malvern, in a day or two,—if not tomorrow, & if not in my company. You cannot know how much pleasure it gives me, to have her here.
I have been extremely amused in the churchyard, & in a different way from what I expected. I expected to read something about bells,—when you told me that in reading the chapter you directed me to, I should find out the reason of your directing me to that particular part. The parody is very clever indeed, & made me laugh in spite of my allegiance to Homer. I suppose you think that it is all over with him—hic jacet [1] in the churchyard; but you should recollect that a churchyard cannot & ought not to shake our faith in immortality.
I have often observed that the sublimer a composition is, the easier is its transit into burlesque, by the road of parody—in which road, there is more dirt than stones.
Talking of profane jests on sacred subjects, did you ever see the epigram on the Latin gerunds—
When Dido’s spouse to Dido would not come,
She wept in silence, & was di … do .. dum.? [2]
It has been so generally admired, that if you answer no, to my question “did you ever”?, I must say “did you never!!”! with many notes of admiration.
Your sincere friend
E B Barrett.
Address, on integral page: H. S. Boyd Esqr
Docket, in unidentified hand: May 1830.
Publication: EBB-HSB, p. 101.
Manuscript: Wellesley College.
1. “Here he lies.”
2. Several versions of this epigram exist, but Richard Porson is generally credited with its authorship. It is said that he “bet a wager that he could make a rhime to anything: it was proposed that he should make trial of the Latin gerund in dum, when Porson said,
Dido found Æneas did not come,
Dido wept, and was Di--do--dum[b].”
Literary Anecdotes and Contemporary Reminiscences … from the Papers of the Late E. H. Barker Esq., 1852, I, 90.)
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