SD1021. John Altham Graham-Clarke, Jr. to Samuel Moulton-Barrett (brother)
Published in The Brownings’ Correspondence, 4, 355 (in part).
Kinnersley Castle.
Aug 12./39–
Dear Sam–
A very punctual correspondent must you consider me, as I have so quietly suffered a month to elapse without having taken up my pen to answer your letter, but so it is. The beginning of a letter, I believe in sober earnest hath a devil, you cannot get on without some canting formal pharisaical phrase as my exordium, “There is a tide in the affairs of men,” and the stream never runs half smoothly till it gets well away from the basin which forms its source. That basin possibly you will call my head possibly and a mighty muddy one too! You’re right for once, I am very dull at present, however here goes– I have put off my writing partly from forgetfulness, (not of you but the packets,) and partly because I thought it possibly might be as well to give you a fair start. We were much surprized the other day in passing through Hereford in our return from a Bow Meeting to see a grave gentleman quietly walk up to the carriage door and ask us how we all fared, & he turned out to be our worthy uncle James, just emerged from the inside of a coach with the violent and malicious intention of taking us by Storm. He is now here in great force rejoicing in the destruction of Salmon, (whereof we on saturday killed six of goodly fatness which are likely to stick to our ribs for the next week) and other fish, in pursuit of which he hath this day with my brother undertaken a notable adventure–
The next account I have to give thee cousin Sam is to inform thee that not being entirely satisfied with the monstrous insipidity of one place, it is by us Each and severally, by one accord determined or at least partly so, to trust our precious persons to the deep and to undertake a voyage to Paddy-Land an Island situate in the atlantic and there to Exercise our ingenuity on various beauties of nature and moreover, to make some diligent and particular enquiries into the characters of those people, some sect or proportion of the inhabitants who pronounce the word Tipperary in one Syllable.
Accounts from the south continue as favourable as you can wish to hear– I am writing for sheer life as my mother intends taking up some of my spare room on some matter of business a much more grave subject than I can at present get my pen to treat of. You shall hear from me again soon and I hope a good deal more to the purpose as this stuff I am inditing savoureth to me of rare truths– I hear from Storm has accompanied you in your voyage, pray give him my best compts & tell him I shall be glad to hear of him in any spare corner he can find. From me you shall again hear soon.
Yr aff cousin
J A G Clarke
Address, on integral page: Saml. M. Barrett Esqre / Cinnamon Hill Estate / Little River Post Office / St. Jame’s Jamaica.
Publication: None traced.
Manuscript: Eton College Library.
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