Coleridge, Sara (1802-1852). - Letter, from Greta Hall, to Elizabeth Wardell (nee Crumpe), at J.G. Crumpe's Esqre, 7 Queen Anne St., Liverpool, dated 2 February 1828. WLMS A / Coleridge, Sara / 20.

Gretahall

Febry 2. 1828

My dearest Elizabeth

Your interesting letter seemed to call for an early answer from me, and nothing but that enemy to free correspondence, postage, prevented me from expressing my feelings to you sooner on the [[-?-]] pleasing intelligence communicated in your last: I heartily congratulate you my dear on your happy prospects, for happy I consider them in your case; children are not perhaps always desirable and circumstances of health, wealth &c make the boon more or less to be prayed for; I must say I think any couple who suffer their cheerfulness to be impaired because it is denied them are extremely blameworthy & unwise, and at the best they certainly are careful comforts; but all the comforts of this world are so I think in a greater or lesser degree; we must rejoice in the good and fortify ourselves against the evil, & not suffer the latter to destroy our relish for the former as so many do. I shall think of you anxiously when your time of trial draws nigh & pray for your speedy relief & recovery; but your letter does not mention particulars & I hope I shall hear again from you & know when you expect the tiny one before it arrives. This perhaps is rather a bold request; how can I expect a wife & an expectant mother to spend her time in scribbling to me, when I who am neither find it so difficult to steal a little leisure for the purpose of answering her letters? The truth is single unimportant body as I am I really have a great deal to fill up my time. My Henry is not content without a long crossed letter every week: till one o clock my time is not my own: I have a good deal of sewing to do at present, and alas! I am slow with my needle; my health requires daily air and exercise, and while I am in company I am obliged to be idle: then my prospect of leaving this dear house and dear vale so much sooner than I expected when I last saw you makes me eager to toss about the hay while the sun-shines; I regret that I cannot make more use of this noble library while I still have the advantage of it than I am at present able to do; and there is much that I should like to do & to see and to copy and to transcribe before I lose the opportunity for ever! but I must crop & lop my desires in this way as much as possible, for I never can gratify them to their full extent.

My dear Henry, whose health, I am thankful to say, has not again given way, will not hear of any post-ponement of our union beyond next August; the spring he gave up on my earnest remonstrance, but unless some unforeseen obstacle were to arise he would not wait another year, as for some rea

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sons I thought advisable. However I do not give this out generally, and should not mention it to you but for the friendship existing between us which I think demands this frankness on my part. But between the cup & the lip you know preventions often arise, & it is unpleasant to be a theme for gossip & speculation. Many things may still prevent our union in August: we have a number of ailing elderly relatives, whose serious illness or death might occasion a delay, besides that I cannot yet think the competence of our income fully established: the Council of King's College London are to meet at Easter; the matter of Henry's salary will then be settled and announced. He has at present a private assurance from the Bp of London, but I sometimes imagine it possible that he may not obtain the consent of the other Leaders in the undertaking: Henry however has no doubts on the subject, & I do not tease him with any of mine. The new College is to be built on the East side of Somerset House with an entrance from the Strand & finished off like the part facing the river. You cant think my dear Elizabeth how glad I should be of a little opportunity of learning housekeeping before I am launched on the sea of matrimony; I fear at first I shall manage the ship but indifferently inexperienced in navigation as I shall be; I am naturally not observant, & here I am unable to acquire any knowledge of the kind: you once mentioned to me a publication intended for the instruction of young housekeeper's I believe by a Mrs: King - do you think it contains much that is not to be found in Mrs Rundell? If you do I wish you would be kind enough when you write to give me the title & tell me how I can procure it. If you could mention to me any dishes desirable for a very small family, or give me any little useful hints I should be greatly obliged to you. I remember a very nice dish at your table of a small piece of beef dressed in a particular manner. You told me how it was done, but I have forgotten; would you be kind enough to repeat the direction. In a very small household I think there must be a difficulty in providing a variety of sufficiently small joints and dishes. I earnestly hoped that our family would be at least larger by one & that my mother would reside with us: I have suffered a great deal on this subject, & I will not awaken painful emotions by recurring to it in detail; it is now settled otherwise, indeed I believe all circumstances considered, it would hardly have been feasible; my mother thinks so herself, and as she will be settled within a

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few miles of London, (at least such is her present intention,) the pain of separation will be softened, & we shall be able to see a good deal of each other, to correspond fr easily, & be useful to each other in various ways. However before my mother fixes her final residence she will pay a long visit at Helston, & become acquainted with her dear, (for so she already is) daughter Mary, and her little grandson Derwent Moultrie, now about 4 months old. The delighted parents describe their darling as parents always do describe their first born sons or daughters; I wish we could have some more impartial report; it has been christened, & three of Derwent's kind & wealthy neighbours are the sponsors. You may imagine how much I long to see my little nephew.

Hartley has not yet accomplished his visit to Edinboro & perhaps never will. He says you are most welcome to the "Winter's Wreath" - he is very sorry that he has nothing better to present you with. I am sorry to say that he is a very bad bargain-maker, and Mr Wordsworth has read him some kind lectures on the subject: he says he must not write in Albums, and waste his powers in this manner, for that he cannot afford it. While he has a debt unpaid or any hesitation about a new suit he must be economic in this way. Hood the Editor of the "Gem" has not I think used him well - he has inserted only one out of four sonnets, & that the worst; Hartley says he has doubtless done it for the best, but as Mr Wordsworth observes Editors ought not to have this selecting & rejecting power; if they agree a certain number of sheets or pages they ought to pay for the number they receive; otherwise they may pay only for what they insert & keep the rest for another year. Hartley has been a good deal lately at Rydal Mount, which is a very good sign; it is a proof that he is in good spirits, & has reason to be satisfied with himself. Yet I fear he does not & will not earn enough to defray his expenses - this is a source of great anxiety to my mother & me. Poor fellow! he has but one serious fault & he has many good qualities; but that one fault mars his own happiness & sadly disturbs that of others. I suppose you have heard all news about the Wordsworths from themselves: Mama & I are going to spend a fortnight at Rydal in March: great anxiety seems to be felt about dear Dora; but I hope it will prove to have been unnecessary: she has a tedious cough & poor Mr Wordsworth often runs out upon the

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terrace to avoid hearing it; the sound I suppose seems ominous to him. I am very glad that John has got the living of Moresby, and I hope Lord Lonsdale's patronage will stand him in good stead by & by. William is going for two years to Bremen to keep up his Latin & Greek & learn German & French. On his return he will either enter one of the Universities, or adopt some other line of life if a good opening occurs. Our poor old friend Mr: Calvert is now dead, & his daughter Mrs Joshua Stanger, whom you have seen has had the small pox after vaccination in infancy. She has lost part of her eye brows, but will have no other permanent marks.

Our winter seclusion has been a good deal enlivened by an agreeable family who have been residing for some months in this neighbourhood & will probably reside here longer. You may remember the name of Chauncy Townshend, a very handsome young poet of whom I gave you a description ten years ago, after he had been paying a visit at this house. He is now married to a sweet elegant young woman, and has kindly undertaken the care & education of three boys, the eldest a Greek, the second his wife's brother, the third a cousin of his own: they are three as delightful boys as ever I saw in my life: Henry Norcott the second reminds me of what your brother George was at his age, & is a fine animated lad. Mr Townshend is very musical; he sings delightfully and the boys sometimes join him: his wife is very sociable, very ladylike and pleasing, & we consider the family altogether quite an acquisition. [[-?-?-]], Your account of Miss Louisa is quite distressing; I hope your next will convey a more comfortable one. She must one should think have some stamina to bear up against such repeated sufferings. Perhaps in the end her constitution will be thoroughly re-established; sometimes this is the case when there is some foundation of strength, & a suffering youth is succeeded by an easy middle age. I heartily hope this may be the case with her. My dear I will take care to return you the "Prometheus" by some good opportunity; but I wish to make another copy of it first. I shewed it to Mr Townshend, & he thinks of it most highly - he even says it is one of the finest of modern poems, & Hartley's other poetical productions he admires very much.

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Mr Townshend became intimate with Derwent at Cambridge and talks of visiting him at Helston; Mrs Pridham D's mother-in-law, sent us a paper the other day containing a speech of Derwents at an Anti-Catholic Meeting at Helston. Hartley, Henry & Mr Townshend all like it very much, and thought it shewed much candour and good nature, although their views of the subject are different from his.

My dear I often think of our comfortable [[?]] and novel readings in Erskine Street; - I enjoyed them very much then, although the journey home & the meeting my mother & friends after so long an absence caused me some agitating thoughts, & my prospects were in an unsettled and rather melancholy state. Now I think I should enjoy your society, & the comfort of your hospitable house still more though I am not altogether without anxiety and [[?]]. The separation from all here, & the partial separation from my mother, as well as the new cares and duties that await me cause me many serious thoughts; but thankfulness & happiness of course predominate in my heart, & the idea that I shall be united to my beloved & have no more painful partings and long absences to endure while Heaven is pleased to [[?]] us to each other would be enough to make me happy even under less comfortable circumstances. I rejoice in the thought too of seeing more of my Father than I have ever hitherto done, but all & every-

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thing here have become doubly dear and interesting to me since the prospect of leaving them has opened upon me. Our dear friends at Rydal too! - I shall miss their society sadly. I am sorry I cannot stay more than a fortnight with them this winter: but I ought not to leave Cuthbert for a longer time. - In your next pray mention how poor Miss Maria Green is going on; I hear of such wonderful recoveries that I do not despair of hers. I hope your brother George & his lady are well and happy as ever. Pray remember me in

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the best manner to your family when you see them. We did not see Mr Jackson when he last passed passed through Keswick which we regret. Mr Wordsworth seems quite recovered from his accident, except that there is a little huskiness in some tones of his voice.

Is April the time when you expect your accouchement? Mama says she thinks your last mentioned that month as the period of your trial: May you be brought through it with as little pain & misery as possible! What an anxious time for your worthy husband! Pray give my kindest regards to him. I wish I knew of any time when we could meet again; but we may be thrown together in future life more than we at present anticipate. I am truly sorry that London and Chester are so far apart. Pray excuse this stupid illwritten letter - I am not very well today, & am obliged to write in a hurry.

Hartley desired to be most kindly remembered - to you; Herbert Hill - a cousin of my Uncle's is spending the winter here previously to his going to college. He is a nice youth - and fit to be among a set of women - gentle, sensible & modest. My Uncle is busy as ever & pretty well, though he has suffered

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much from cough & cold. The rest of the family are pretty well, except poor Aunt Lovell. Mama is not so strong as formerly. She desires her best regards to you. Believe me dearest Elizabeth.

Your truly attached friend.

Sara Coleridge.

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I will send this by the first opportunity to your friends at Liverpool. They will be able to send it free to you no doubt.

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<S. Coleridge 2d Feb. 1828>

Mrs: Wardell

J.G. Crumpe's Esqre

7. Queen Anne St.

Liverpool.

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Object summary: WLMS A / Coleridge, Sara / 20