Hayley-XII-6

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“Do give my Love to that enchanting Creature Miss Seward, & tell her from me you are not such a severe cross-looking mortal, as our dear Tiziano has made you, tho I think the Head in point of execution divine!”– Such is the Critique of a most dear & intimate Friend of mine (with whom I shall hereafter make you perfectly acquainted) on the little Portrait, which has just passed thro his Hands in its way from Eartham to Lichfield; & methinks I hear my Friend Jenny, (your fair Fille de Chambre) exclaim on her first peep at the Head: Lord help me! is this the fine Posy-Writer they talk about?- Mercy! what a sour Face he has! poor Gentleman! I suppose He is a little crack-brained, as they say all your great Varse [sic] Makers go out of their Wits – Well! Heaven

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preserve my poor Mistress, for I am sure, at the rate she goes on, she is like to be as crazy as the best of them!! —

Now let me seriously & soberly thank you for yr charming letter – your remarks on Music delight me, because they lead me to hope, that I shall prevail on you to do, what I have in vain tempted a musico-poetical but indolent neighbour of mine to begin; - I mean a Poem on that Science: for I want to see in our Language a little poetical Encyclopedia, or collection of Poems on such Arts & Sciences, as may be happily treated in Verse – I have some Hopes of completing four separate Compositions of this nature myself, including my imperfect essays on Painting & History, & I shall be most happy to see my work concluded by (like a well-directed

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Concert) with a superior performance from the Hand of my dear Parnassian Sister on the most enchanting of all the fine Arts.

A ditty highly penn’d

Sung by a fair Queen in a summer Bower, With ravishing division, to her Lute. —

As you express such an affectionate Curiosity to know the subject of my new Poem, I am bound to gratify yr wishes - & I shall tell you, as a grand secret, that I am in the middle of a long Essay on epic Poetry in five Epistles, to be attended with a Train of Notes as long as a funeral Procession, & perhaps as dull.­ — I will tell you also that you may perhaps \be/ the occasion of my losing by this publication all the little poetical credit I have gain’d —for my eagerness to see you is so great, that as I wish to finish the poem at

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least, before I quit my own Heritage, I shall scribble with all the Haste & impatience of a Grubstreet Garrateer –

Eliza sets out for her Winter Quarters at Bath in the first week of November; & when I am left quite alone, I shall ride my poor Pegasus as fast as I can persuade Him to carry me, that I may the sooner pay my adoration, to the fair Muse of Lichfield —

As to my Notes (which will chiefly consist of translated Passages from various Italian & Spanish Poets little known among us) as you so kindly offer me a room of uninvaded retirement, I shall finish them under your auspices, that I may have the delight of having you both as my Companion & Assistant

I long to see your sweet Elegy in its state of Improvement & amplification — If I have many comments to make on it, I shall be tempted to request it may not be printed till we have talked it over together at Lichfield, as my woeful Eyes allow me to write so little, & verbal criticisms, which may be adjusted in a moment by Conversation, require some pages in epistolary discussion – you have done

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perfectly right in rejecting my cobbled alteration of yr Anstyan Stanza — I should never either write or talk to you with that cordial Satisfaction, with which I hope to do both, if I did not see some proofs of your Audacity, as you call that generous Freedom, which is the soul of true Friendship — I still think that Anstey deserves a third Stanza & I beg you will give it Him —

The true Roman Eagle \Mr Gibbon/ has lately spent two delightful days with us — He was as familiar as the Robin, & as Enchanting as the Nghtingale – we talked not a little of you — & when I read him yr verses, that open the Botanic Garden; He declared He never heard any poetry more elegant or pleasing. – He approved also very highly the parts of yr Elegy, which I allow’d Him to hear, for I suppressed

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the opening & other unfinish’d parts. But more of this genuine Eagle, when the little sparrow shall be happy enough to twitter by your side — I must now for a thousand reasons haste to close my paper — let me first thank you for yr most pleasant raillery on the God of Physic, & the spirited Verses of yr [sic] Derbyshire Poet –

I would by all means advise you to prefix nothing to your Elegy, except a short account of Lady M^s poetical Institution, unless you rather chuse [sic] to make this account an appendix to the Elegy, & close it with yr own spirited ode, which I think was the last darling of the Vase – yet I believe it will be

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better to let yr Elegy come forth quite alone, with all the simplicity of a graceful Mourner —

My best regards to yr good Father – I shall be happy to catch all his Instruction concerning Trochees & Iambicks [sic] – Farewell & believe me ever

my dr Sister

Yr [sic] most affectionate
WH

Eartham
Oct 20 1781

Two sheets