Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1890-05-21
TENNYSON'S BOYHOoD.
The Early Home of the Poet Laure-

lies remote from every center of Eng
lish life and industry. The nearest
town TO it is HOrncastie, and Horncastle
Is dull and uninteresting small place
six miles away. Around Somersby
stands circle of the hills. called In
that land wolds, making of Somersby
| drowsy Little nook into which echoes of
/ the busy world beyond never penetrate.
/ Some six hundred acres comprise the
| parish over which presided, four-score
| Gears ago, the poets father; in places
scattered about dwell now as dwelt
then about forty simple old-time folk
IN half as many huts. These were and
| are the pariShioneIs. st. Margaret's is
L small, ancient and disappointing
church Nothing in the exterior i'm
| presses the visitor, and of the interior
| the same Is true.
LOw-lying across the way from this
| church is seen the poets birthplace, a
| long, ancient house among trees, with
wolds round about; the roof steep and
tiled, one section of the edifice having
long-pointed, stained glass windows, as
/ If built for a private chapel. In re-
ality there are two houses in this one
| house, and these ecclesiastical windows
give light for dining-room that was
| built by the poets father. Long dwelt
| the Tennysons under this roof. After
the fathers untimely death the family
still made the place their home. When
at last they lett it their regrets were
not few.
! Few Somersby folk knew anything of
/ the poet Curious is their ignorance of
one who has linked the name of their
/ home with his own immortality. Asked
| II they know aUght of one who is named
| TennySon they Will speak of "old DR..
| TennysOn, who died long time ago."
| and whose grave is in the churchyarl-
| Charles was the brother who. with
| Al red, wrote the verse in that famous
I and excessively scarce volume known
as Poems by Two Brothers" When
AT school in the Lincolnshire town of
/ LOuth they had often composed verse,
/ though II must have been without re-
motest thought of public recognition
such as came. When Alfred was Is he
and Charles had produced a considerable
mass of lines. For : mersby lads they
were wise and learned; they had seen
/ a fair bit OF the world; their father was
I a man of good attainments; LouIh was
| known to them and so was HOrncastle
indeed, they had wandered far into
/ neighbOring parts of the shire, and
under the fathers eye had re ID profita-
/ bly in books worth reading
/ y tradition says il was a desire TO
/ travel further and see the church edi-
| nceS of Lincolnshire that made the lads
[ first print their verse. Lincoln. famed
I among cathedral towns, lies not far off
/ as We now measure space. and tie boys
/ !Ongei TO see its glories. But there was
J an embarrassing want OF money. DIR.
| Tennyson's 600 of salary could not
| supply his sons with many luXuries. To
| educate them was do ng full fathers
| duty. 1t IS according 10 the legend that
/ the family coachman, when he heard
| o. Alfred'S DISAPPOINTED wish, :p-
preached him with a wise suggestion:
why, Master Alfred, You Are always
writing poetry-why don't you sell it?''
| Alfred consulted Charles. and soon that
! coachman drove over TO Louth with a
| collection of poems ia manuscript and
| left them at the door of j. jackson,
I bOOksel er, who Occa -iOnally had brought
| out a volume by arrangement with a
| house IN London
J. Jackson was good enough to think
| We of tins verse, and made contract
I To pay the BOYS eIO for it. 1t comprises
I la pages of note-paIer size IN ''cloSe
/ 'Screwy' caligTaphy. looking more like
| Greek than English" In some cases
I both sides of the sheet were written on.
/ There are numerous C rrections badly
| made, while various pages are dishgured
/ with rude SchOOlbOy sketches. For
/ printer it was very poor "copy." Tie
| present condition of the manuscript Is
/ good, only the edges are brown and
/ ragged. Seldom is 1t shown to strangers,
and a strong box holds it
Louta the boys had known intimately
while at school there In the school
| library now exists four copies OF tie
/ first edition of the poets writings. j.
] ". Wilson, who still lives in Louth,
was a schOolmate of the laureate's, and
/ is believed to be the only one now sur
/ vlv.ng. Alfred'S career there he can
well remember. lie never knew him
/ to associate with the other boys; in
| their sports he to1k no part. His
/ brother Charles was hls sole intimate
| friend. Grave beyond their Years, the
/ brothers were otherwise not noteworthy;
| neither IN Classroom nor playground
were they distinguished; in the latter,
/ in fact, they were unknown. An old
resident says that they .'were always
| running about from one place TO
/ another and every one knew them and
/ their Bohemian ways They wrote
| verses, they never had any pocket
| money, they took long walks at night
/ time, and they were decidedly eX-
! elusive allTcu was OlJtu away
| from home hatless and quite absorbed,
sometimes only realizing his sItuati n
when his further Journeying was pre-
| ve!:ted by the sea- The sea Is more
/ shan ten miles srom Somersby-
Tennyson found his wife, the wife
4 who still survives, in Lincolnshire.
/ Emily Sellwood was the daughter of a
| LAWYER III norncastle, and had for
| uncle Sir John Franklin. Miss Sell
woods father has been described as a
/ good specimen of the old-faShoned
| family lawyer. Hehai two daughters
! Iesides Miss Emily, and one who knew
| him. doubts if he was altogether p 'eaSed
| with Miss Emily's liking for the Young
| poet. But he must have recovered
/ f!om this feeling at the time of the
/ marriage. Tennyson had been emerged
] from obscurity and entered the -Oad
/ tha- was to lead on tosplendld fortune.
/ LADY TennySon's sisters are still living.
/ One of them dwells in Lincolnshire.
Many places about Somer by have
suggested lines in the laureate's verse,
| though an actual idenity probably does
| not exist. About SomersDy glldes a
brook, the one the poet had made i'm
mortal, and on a map of Lincolnshire
we can trace il on its cOar southeast
ward for thirty miles to Gibraltar Point,
WI ere its waters mingle with those OF
| the sea Around the Iectory garden at
| Somersby winds this brook. Many
| stately homes in the SOmershy neigh
| borhood might have suggested Lock
| slew Hall p obably there never was