New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-05-12
'COLERIDGE's LETTERS.
A COMPLETE BIOGRAPHY FROM THE POET.
PHILOSOPHERS OWN PEN.

LETTERS OF SAMUEL TAYLOR coLERipG,E eo
Edited by Ernest Hartley Is. Sc'e Vo n np. W.
w H.s' hous sh fMiniin 4 CO.
A complete collection Of Coleridge's letters would
MI many such volumes are here presented 10
the public Mr.. E. H. Coleridge has selected from
the treasured manuscripts placed al MS oisposai
only those Of peculiar interest In themselves OF IN
their bearing on the life OF their author. very
few OF them betray any signs OF literary oenoera-
ton or finish. I: Is their beauty tnat tney each
reflect the mood Of the moment In wnicn tney were
manned. But while they lack that exquisite after
thou~bt IN the choice Of words which marked
Co,eridee's poetry-and his prose. when that was
e,ahorated-they have q subtety Of their own
which lends many OF them q dubious charm. The
reader fnds the mood in which given letter was
vritten obvious enough: but he Is not always
certain that this was the only mood OF the writer
AZ The moment Doubts Of this sort are more OBJ
tr,s,ve with the letters OF Coleridges earlier
wars An illustration IL to be found In the aIu-
s,ons 10 his love affair with Mary Evans. There
ran hardly be q question that this early attach
ment and It's breaking of had an influence on Cole
ridges later career. But 1t was treated In the
letters that relate to II In these volumes, most OF
which are new to the types. after strange iash-
ION. There IL no sentiment In the letters to Mary
Evans. to her mother and her sister. Anne. Inc
vo,ns university man IL more intent upon his own
do,nes than upon anything else In the world You
covet 70 be near my heart" he writes to ME-
Evans, apparently copying or adopting phrase
which she had used and then RESPONDS army
"Believe me. that you and my sister nave inc
very nrst row in the front box of my hearts niue
theatre. and. God knows. you are not CROWDED
She tried a little feminine experiment upon MN
AA.sO htnpU
but he denied this impeachment with almost un-
necessary fcrvor. He sent them poems ne toio
them Of his successes as a student. ne corrected
Mary's spelling, and he called her his sister, his
dAar sister In the very letter that contained the
verses. "A Lovers Complaint to His Mistress
who Deserted Him In Quest Of a More wealthy
Huaba nd In the East Indies" These verses with
others IN the letter he asked her to burn. II she
were tempted TO read them second time IN
another letter he alluded to another copy OF verses
something In the manner OF Campbeii. WIN
"Reminiscences Of Ossan. as "a strong dose OF op'-
UNI" The phrase was ominous. and there was 30
tt,s occasion for Il that one wonders II Coleridge
had already begun to play with the drug which
was to be 20 vexatious torment In later years.
II IL quite certain that though Coleridge himself
never attached any Importance to the fact' ne nao
taken his turn at the laudanum bottle long peiore
the date Of that swelling OF the knee wnich ne
has made famous, or Of his troubles with neura'-
Ra. The editor of these volumes aluoes 10 d
letter not yet published. In which Coleriose az
early as 1891 was obliged to extenuate some TACT
nv saving to his brother George. opium never
used to have any disagreeable effects on me-
That was the first year Of his residence at the
,,n,versitv even earlier than the chance allusion
10 the subject In the letter to Mary Evans MI
CoIertdRe supposes that opiates may have been
administered to him at Christs Hospital when ne
WAS af71icted with rheumatic fever. At any rate,
ne was already at that time familiar with pain,
ana was able to describe 1t with graphic power.
By 1895 he was ready to confess the power OF
opium in assuagng mental anguish Ihs was
shown In recently discovered letter, where Core
ridge wrote: II have been tottering on the verge
Of Madness" abiding to troubles with the press
and TO an illness Of Mrs. Coleridge. and ADDED !
have been obliged to take laudanum almost every
night" These illusions to the acts OF youth ana
- manhood are important to study OF the eeH-
accusation TO which Coleridge was prone. es-
pecially throughout the more anxious part OF Ms
career The editor OF these volumes points out
that the contradiction between the evidence al
forded by instances Of early use OF opium ana
Coerdges insistence upon the point that his slav-
cry to the drug began so late as his second year
the first commencement Of the secret and haoitual
resort 70 narcotics which weighed on memory
and conscience. and there 10 abundant evidence
that Il was not TN the late spring OF 1901 that he
could be said 10 be under the dominion OF opium"
but the manner in which Coleridge accused him.
seif must be considered Like other mortals, he
took refuge In generalities. There he censured
himself sternly. But when II came to particulars
his accusation frequently took the form OF an ex-
cuse There is a certain luxury OF self-tor-
mert OF Notwithstanding, as Cole
ridge himself might have said In one OF his
ITS Of word coining-and no man knew better
than Coieridge how to indulge In II. Sometimes
A one reads these letters, one almost fancies that
ne took an open confession to be an amendment
IN full for all the ofYenses with which his con-
science taxed him. The laborious introspection
which all this self-accusation required was re-
ward rather than penalty to mind Ike that OF
Co,eridse. It sharpened his skill as a psycholo-
sist and deepened his philosophy. II he had not
found the pretext and the provocation for 1t In
opiuu. he would have found them in something
else: for example. In the mild pessimism betrayed
IN his youthful letters which he might easily have
cultivated until II became habitual. As almost
his whole value as poet and thinker 10 due to
the abnormal quality OF his mind II 10 species OF
trrratitude for those who proht by his literary
iabors 20 censure harshly his habits. which were
moro the outcome OF an inner necessity OF mind
than of anything that could be called vicious
temperament. OF the latter there Is no trace
In Coleridge.
1t IL In the light Of the mental character OF the
man. OF which he himself only gradually acquired
consciousness. that the passing. though doubtless
heartfelt, episode Of Mary Evans has high I'M
mort in the life OF coierdge. In the letters that
have been mentioned there was. with the excep-
tion OF single poem no sign Of special affection
for the young woman, though there was phrase
or two to indicate that her personal charms had
not escaped his attention. With an indecision
that was as characteristic OF his youth as OF his
later years, ne evaded the experience OF his fee-
ines and then, when he came to reflect on the
matter. attributed his hesitation to worldly wis.,
dom. In relating to southey the little romance