nevertheless true; and subsequently, Bysshe ordered clothes according to his own fancy at Eton, and the beautifully fitting silk pantaloons, as he stood, as almost all men and boys do, with their coat tails near the fire, excited my silent, though excessive admiration. MY DEAREST JANE, I meant in my last letter to have given you an illustration of Bysshe's boyish traits of imagination, but flew off to a later period. On one occasion he gave the most minute details of a visit he had paid to some ladies, with whom he was acquainted at our village: he described their reception of him, their occupations, and the wandering in their pretty garden, where there was a well-remembered filbert-walk and an undulating turfbank, the delight of our morning visit. There must have been something peculiar in this little event, for I have often heard it mentioned as a singular fact, and it was ascertained almost immediately, that the boy had never been to the house. It was not considered as a falsehood to be punished; but, I imagine, his conduct altogether must have been so little understood, and unlike that of the generality of children, that these tales were left unnoticed. He was, at a later period, in the habit of walking out at night, and the prosaic minds of ordinary mortals could not understand the pleasure to be derived from contemplating the stars, when he probably was repeating to himself lines, which were so soon to astonish those, who looked on him as a boy. The old servant of the family would follow him, and say, that "Master Bysshe only took a walk, and came back again." He was full of cheerful fun, and had all the comic vein so agreeable in a household: details of this kind would be trifling in many instances: but, as a child at school, I remember some verses, that were sent by him to one of my elder sisters, illustrating something unfavorable to a French teacher, who was accused of being fond of those pupils, who could supply her with fruit and cakes. I believe it was clever, for the sisters were proud enough of it to be imprudent, and by some means it became known to Madame, and I can just remember the commotion it made and the " very bold boy our broder must be." I have somewhere in my possession a very early effusion of Bysshe's, with a cat painted on the top of the sheet. I will try and find it; but there is no promise of future excellence in the lines, the versification is defective. At one time, he, with my eldest sister, wrote a play secretly, and sent it to Matthews, the comedian; who, after a time, returned it, with the opinion, that it would not do for acting. I wonder, whether Matthews knew the age of the boy and girl, who ventured upon writing a play. The subject was never known to me; and most likely, the youthful authors made a good blaze with the MS. MY DEAREST JANE, Every one has heard of Mrs. Hemans, if they have not read her poetry. She published a large volume, when quite a girl and Miss Browne. Early talent attracted Bysshe's admiration and sympathy: he wrote to Miss Felicia Dorothea Browne, and he received an answer, but it was to an effect which gave no encouragement to farther correspondence: and he was probably disappointed, as all young, ardent, and admiring spirits would be in such a case. He fancied that I might, with encouragement, write verses, and his first lesson to me, I perfectly remember. Monk Lewis's Poems had a great attraction for him, and any tale of spirits, fiends, etc., seemed congenial to his taste at an early age. I was so young, that I really can remember nothing of the verses I made, farther than to give you as a sample of them :— "There was an old woman, as I have heard say, -and these two lines are probably left in my memory, because Bysshe expressed so much astonishment at my knowledge of the word metamorphoses. There were several short poems, I think, of which he gave me the subject; and one line about an old woman in her bony gown,” (even the rhyme to which line I forget), elicited the praise for which I wrote. Subse 66 66 quently he had them printed, and a mistake I made about sending one of my heroes, or heroines, out by night and day in the same stanza, he would not alter, but excused it by quoting something from Shakespeare. When I saw my name on the title-page "H-ll-n Sh-ll-y,” I felt much more frightened than pleased, and as soon as the publication was seen by my superiors, it was bought up and destroyed. I should not think there could have been anything in it worth either keeping or destroying, but it will tend to show, that my brother was full of pleasant attention to children, though his mind was so far above theirs. He had a wish to educate some child, and often talked seriously of purchasing a little girl for that purpose; a tumbler, who came to the back door to display her wonderful feats, attracted him, and he thought she would be a good subject for the purpose, but all these wild fancies came to naught. He would take his pony and ride about the beautiful lanes and fields surrounding the house, and would talk of his intention, but he did not consider that board and lodging would be indispensable, and this difficulty, probably, was quite sufficient to prevent the talk from becoming reality. MY DEAREST JANE, I think you have heard me mention a few things concerning Bysshe, which may only be interesting to you, and me, and two or three others; for when I write about him, whose poems and writings, and attainments, which were never known to the world in all their wonderful profusion, I feel that my anecdotes are scarcely indicative of his character; but you remember that my knowledge of Bysshe ended at ten years of age, and probably the last time I saw him was at Clapham, where we were at school, and he came occasionally to see us, and ask questions about our comfort. One day his ire was greatly excited at a black mark hung round one of our throats, as a penalty for some small misdemeanor. He expressed great disapprobation, more of the system than that one of his sisters should be so punished. Another time he found me, I think, in an iron collar, which certainly was a dreadful instrument of torture in my opinion. It was not worn as a punishment, but because I poked; but Bysshe declared it would make me grow crooked, and ought to be discontinued immediately. The old lady who kept the school, would not, I believe, have hurt one of her pupils for any amount of approbation, so that she was not likely to continue an objectionable practice, if boldly disapproved of, and I was released forthwith. He came once with the elders of the family, and Harriet Grove, his early love, was of the party: how fresh and pretty she was! Her assistance was invoked to keep the wild boy quiet, for he was full of pranks, and upset the port wine on the tray cloth, for our schoolmistress was hospitable, and had offered refreshments; then we all walked in the garden, and there was much ado to calm the spirits of the wild boy. His disappointment a few years afterwards, in losing the lady of his love, had a great effect upon him; and my eldest sister has frequently told me how narrowly she used to watch him and accompany him in his walks with his dog and gun. I believe this matter has been discussed amongst others, probably with little knowledge of the truth. It was not put an end to by mutual consent; but both parties were very young, and her father did not think the marriage would be for his daughter's happiness. He, however, with truly honorable feeling, would not have persisted in his objection, if his daughter had considered herself bound by a promise to my brother, but this was not the case, and time healed the wound, by means of another Harriet, whose name and similar complexion, perhaps, attracted the attention of my brother. I do not consider any details of a later date would be in my province, for I only know his history as I have been told it. MY DEAREST JANE, I began my last letter intending to tell you of a morning's event. As we were sitting in the little breakfast room our eyes were attracted by a countryman passing the window with a truss of hay on a prong over his shoulders; the intruder was wondered at and called after, when it was discovered that Bysshe had put himself in costume to take some hay to a young lady at Horsham, who was advised to use hay-tea for chilblains. When visitors were announced during his visit to the vicar's daughter, he concealed himself under the table, but the concealment did not probably last long. We have lately been on a visit to Cuckfield Park, and it was singular enough that our host, without having heard this story, mentioned his single recollection of having once, when quite a little boy, seen Bysshe, who came to his uncle, Colonel Sergison, whilst on a visit to his lawyer in Horsham, and asked, in Sussex language, to be hired as gamekeeper's boy. My informant thought his suit was successful, and then, of course, there was an explosion of laughter. I remember incidents, but nothing that either preceded or followed them, connectedly. My reminiscences must necessarily be limited to a few early years, for the tales of others, with regard to my brother, do not appear to me truthful. I read of his discordant voice and stooping figure, and I think excitement, in one case, and deep thinking in another, might have made this true in a measure; but, as I remember Bysshe, his figure was slight and beautiful, his hands were models, and his feet are treading the earth again in one of his race; his eyes, too, have descended in their wild, fixed beauty to the same person. As a child, I have heard that his skin was like snow, and bright ringlets covered his head. He was, I have heard, a beautiful boy. His old nurse lived, within the last two or three years, at Horsham. One of the curates there-a Mr. Du Barry-was a great admirer of my brother's poetry, and we were able, through him, to remind her of those years, when she used to come regularly every Christmas to Field Place, to receive a substantial proof that she was not to be forgotten, though her nurse-child was gone from earth, forever. MY DEAREST JANE, I have just found the lines which I mentioned; a child's effusion about some cat, which evidently had a story, but it must have been before I can remember. It is in Elizabeth's |