56. Robert Southey and Grosvenor Charles Bedford to Charles Collins, 16 September 1793*
Mighty mirror of the agePretty Plato — cubic sage Soul of music-honourd graceOf Alma Maters powderd race With thy breeches made of silkAnd thy skin as white as milkAnd thy hair so nicely drestAnd thy waistcoat of the bestAnd thy shoes so neatly tiedAnd thy coat in fashions prideAnd thy nice collection fine Godlike glorious & divineConnoisseur in every artMaster of the gentle heartChrist Church pride & Oxford beauWhat is there thou dost not knowHail then thrice & thrice againHappiest of happy men[start of section in Bedford’s hand]Happy now to wildly rangeIn the meadows of Pipe GrangePretty Grange & pretty PipeWhere the Plums & Peaches ripeClustring dropping all aroundOn the flower enamel’d groundJack the second1 in thy handUnder some elm take thy standOn with Ovid’s2 pretty metrePleasure smiling in each featureOn the Pucelle of Voltaire3 On a soft Italian air!Humming gently like the beeOn every branch of every treePretty humming pretty airRuby apple golden pair [end of section in Bedford’s hand]Pretty songster as you singWalking in a fairy ringAll the birds approaching near Modulations sweet shall hearComing from this Orpheus4 newGently breathing forth from you.And the winds shall cease to blowAnd the rivers cease to flowTouchd by notes so sweet the owlShall in concert learn to howlLost in wonder look at youAnd drop his eyelids soft & blue.[start of section in Bedford’s hand]And the weasel there shall stealAnd learn to squeak & learn to squealThe Dolphin there in evening stillDares the Dam of water mill.And with open Gills the Trout Wonders at the harmonious soulsRout proceeding from thy bellowsPrettiest of pretty fellows!Ah! take care lest any fishTo gratify a selfish wishSnap thee up in luckless hourVictim of his ruthless powerNever Jonas5 felt such dreadWhen Behemoth snapped his head Snapped his head & shoulders tooShoulders breeches stockings shoe! Shoe with pretty ribbon tiedStocking silk so nicely dyed!Lucky whale no spur or bootWas on, to gall thy gapeing throat [end of section in Bedford’s hand]Oh may never wondering Jove6 Send an eagle from above To snatch thee taking then no heedAnd make another Ganymede7 Pretty Prince & Pretty BoyHeavens pride & heavens joyThere thy hand shall fill the cupAnd Captain Colquitt8 gulp it upOh take heed wheneer you walkLest the eagle hear you talkSwooping down with mighty swingHear thee sweetly play & singAnd take thee to the Gods aboveTo sing & play to mighty Jove [start of section in Bedford’s hand]Ah take care lest any Hebe9 Meet thee when the Goddess Phoebe10 Drives her ponies thro the skyPonies white & chariot highTake care lest away she runWith Mrs Collins’ darling sonHorrid thought & dreadful deedHebe taking Ganymede!!![end of section in Bedford’s hand]Then what wailings would resoundOver all the woful ground!So when once the Naiad dameOf the font where Hylas cameCarried off the lovely boyGreat Alcides11 darling joyHylas12 Hylas then he criesHylas — Echo loud replies.Charley Charley so would soundAll the rocks & woods aroundCharley Charley where art theeWhither whither canst thou be!Out of hearing out of sightGone & lost & vanished quite.Oh take heed my friend for fearSome Oread13 chuse thee for her dear[start of section in Bedford’s hand]Or some mandrake yideous yellingSnatch thee to his dismal dwelling Horrid mandrake horrid screamDismal form of dismal dream,Better sit at home & writeTo one & Southey, gentle wightsThen take out your neat casetteAnd pay the epistolary debtTurn the sentence neat & prettyPeriod round & period wittyDotted note of admirationPut into it’s proper stationRhapsody & dashes longMeaning clear & sentence strongGibbon’s14 slyness Voltaire’s quaintnessThan these two men sure you aint less.
May no bugaboo or ghostCause your senses to be lostNo saw head on bloody bonesSitting on the churchyard stonesFright thee with it’s saucer eyesEyeballs red as cherry pies.[end of section in Bedford’s hand]But may gentle slumbers stealAnd make you dream & sleep so well[start of section in Bedford’s hand]B’ye oh Charley Collins b’yeLulla-Lulla-Lulla by.[end of section in Bedford’s hand]
—————
Pretty Boy so nice & taperI am sure you’ll like this paper
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[start of section in Bedford’s hand]Border pink & border creamThat you like it well I ween.
G.C.B.
[end of section in Bedford’s hand]
R.S.
[start of section in Bedford’s hand]
Septr. 16. 1793
make my respects to all your good Family. G.C.B.
[end of section in Bedford’s hand]
make my respects to all your good Family.
R.S.
Notes
Address: To/ Signor Carlo Collins/ at/ Captain Colquitt’s/ Pipe Grange/ near/
Lichfield/ Staffordshire/ only double
Postmark: ASE/ 19/ 93
Seal: Red wax; male figure with illegible motto
MS:
Huntington Library, HM 44803. ALS; 2p. and envelope. [Unusually, the letter is written
on decorated stationery with a pink border
patterned with blue dots; it also has a matching envelope.]
Unpublished. Back
1. Johannes Secundus (1511–1536), whose Liber Basiorum (Book of Kisses) was published in 1541. Back
2. Publius Ovidius Naso (43 BC–AD 17), whose works included the Amores, Heroides, Ars Amatoria, Fasti and Tristia. His surviving poems are all written in elegiac couplets, with the exception of the Metamorphoses, which is in hexameters. Back
3. La Pucelle (1755–1762), a mock-epic poem by Voltaire (1694–1778). Back
4. In Greek mythology, a singer whose song has more than human power. Back
5. The story of Jonah and the whale is found in the book of Jonah. Back
6. In Roman mythology, the king of the gods. Back
7. In Greek mythology, a handsome young boy carried off to Mount Olympus by Zeus. He replaced Hebe (daughter of Zeus and Hera) as cupbearer to the gods. Back
8. The naval officer Captain Goodwin Colquitt (dates unknown) was Charles Collins’s uncle by marriage. See John Nichols, The History and Antiquities of the County of Leicester, 4 vols (London, 1795–1815), IV, p. 184. Back
9. In Greek mythology, the goddess of youth. Back
10. In Greek mythology, another name for Artemis, goddess of the moon. Back
11. In Greek mythology, another name for Hercules, father of Hylas. Back
12. In Greek mythology, one of the Argonauts. He was dragged into a spring by a water nymph who had fallen in love with him. Back
13. In Greek mythology, a mountain nymph. Back
14. Edward Gibbon (1737–1794; DNB). Back