The times., 1899-01-08
A New Literary Treasure.

long beloved of the bookworm, and the
bookworm has so remarkable a gift OF
ferreting out all the smallest serihblings
of his favorites, that it was a considerable
surprise to the reading world when ii
was announced that some hitherto I'M
published letters from the writer of Ella
had come to light This trove affects one
somewhat as thoroughly authentic spirit
ualistic slate writing might-it lends i
certain air Of freshness and reality TO our
idea of the authors character. The let
ters were written mainly to the brothers,
Charles and Robert Lloyd. sons Of a Bir-
mingham Quaker. Charles Lloyd, and are
now published, together with three let
tiers of Ccleridge. some from the Lloyds
and some other correspondence in a vol
ume edited by Z. V. Lucas. This corre-
spondence has remained in obscurity for
more than eighty years. and the editor
remarks that this fact suggests the al
Turing possibility of still other letters re-
served by Fate for a later disclosure.
But this is scarcely probable. Fate like
lightning seldom strikes twice in the same
place.
The family Of Charles Lloyd. it appears.
had been Quakers for upward of 800 years
when Robert and Charles appeared on the
scene, and the father of these two friends
of Lamb was a wellknown banker and
DnlianinlOpiSt OF birmingham. kpDSrt,
the younger son. appears 10 have revolted
from the doctrines and practices Of the
Quaker sect and 10 have sought counsel
and sympathy in his peTplexities from the
ever-genial Charles Lamb Charles Lloyd
was, in his young days. a sensitive
dreamy, introspectiye poet. and il does not
appear that he was especially in sympathy
with his fathers creed. preferTing rather
q neutral attitude toward all religions. He
was at one time intimately associated with
Lamb and Col6ridge in sort of literary
comradeship. LLOYD some time after this
made some translations from the Latin and
Greek, notably from Homer and Horace,
and a part of the correspondence relates
10 these. Later in the book We have some
"reminiscences OF his family and glimpses
of their friendship with Charles and Mary
Lamb and with Wordsworth and his sister.
There is about as much of the lloyds as of
Lamb in the book. and il is therefore most
appropriately named Charles Lamb and
the Lloyds.
The book is one which will appeal TO the
reader precisely as Charles Lamb hims II
does. There is no purpose in it but 10 re-
veal PERSONAL---VERY. makes no pretepsioDS
OF any sort: it simply gives one success
sion Of glimpses, through letters. journals
and judicious bits OF narrative. CT the lives
of several gifted people who were on earth
100 years ago. The letters embrace p--
riod of about thirty-fve years-from I7S)
TO 1910 or 1890. The illustrations are four
in number all po-trai, s-Lamb. Colerid re-
Charles Lloyd and his wife Sophia Lloyd,
with her ultle girl Sophia. The portrait
of Lamb fs from painting by Hazlitt;
that of COlsridge from d NGndyke por-
trait. and the other two from Consiables.
The first episode of especial i-te-es, re-
corded in the book is the mischieTous par
ody written by Coleridge. which resulted
in the breaking Up OF the friendship be-
himself I ANN and | 1pKd II
Cured to Coleridge that q gentle satire Of
his own and his friends poeticsl manner
isms would not be bad thing, and he
coTdingly wrote three sonnets, which were
published in the Monthly Magazine and
signed Nehemiah Higginbottom." He
says Of them that they were intended to
ridicule-
that aHectation ri uu5feeteinoss. of Jump
ing and misplaced accident, in commonplace
rpithots. fat lines forted into poetry hy Italics
(signiiyirE how well and IEouthishly the author
would read them. pnHy I4iL"s, etc
barts
One of the sonnets, even at this dis
tance of time and place, makes one
smile at its sly and demure fun. 1t is
entitled:
To SIMPLICITY
On. / 10 love thee, meek Simplicity.
For Of thy lays the uling siInplcucss
Goes TO my heart and sootles each small distress
distress though snail, yet hapy great to me.
'Tis true on Lady Fortunes gentlest pad
amble On; yet, though ! know not why.
SO sad / an! But should = friend and I
Grow cool and mif: Oh. ] vc.y sad!
And then with sonnets and with sympathy
My dreamy bc~om's mystic woes ! pail;
Now OF my false friend planning piantivcly,
Now raving al mankind in general;
But, whether sd or fierce. tits simple all,
All very simple, meek Simplicity!
Coleridge's whimsical verses appear TO
than one. Not only did Lloyd resent them
bitterly, but SOuthey took this particular
sonnet as an attack on himself. Lloyd
subsequently, took il into his head 20 write
a novel. called Edmund Oliver" and 10
use therein some experiences Of Coleridge
told in private conversation. The novel
not only broke up the friendship between
its author and Coleridge. and drove the lat
ter into lonely farmhouse near porlock
where he took TO occasional use OF opium
iunder the influence OF which "Kubla
Khan" was written), but it seriously dis
turbed Lloyd's family. His mother writes
10 her younger son tRobery on the sub
iect:
Thou must frequently have heard me say that
hoped Charles would never le novel writer;
c4u honestly sls should rather hifu en-
gagged "a the most humble uccuratiun that
thought consistent with Christian simplicity.
Till afu convinced that the Clrisiiau
religion ia Sable, J shall never think The imaEi.
nation Tan not IN the deliciou, luxury Of sen
tiiaeHt aud warm dest riptions of the passions
and the heart remain pure have studied III,
New Testament o. mgsh as most but have pcrri
yet discovered. with the philosophers ii the pre-
Git day that the Christian warfare j. accom-
I!ished by iHdlciug the mind ia every kind 9,
dissipation, provide We keep clear Of gross vice
II appears that all this tango rosu t.C
in the estTangement of each member o
the trio from each Of the others. Lami
and Coleridge finally became reconcile,
through the good oficos Of Lloyd, and tn
friendship was renewed. This was il
1893, year after the rupture. Coler.dg,
was then twenty-seven and Lamb twenty,
four. One Of the reasons for the friend.
ship, and also for its occasional fracture
seems TO have been that Lloyd, while az,
fectionate. kind hearted and upright, auC
possessed Of very fair intellect la
scarcely any sense OF humor. with which
attribute both the others were plentifu'll
endowed. He seems to have been th'
feminine nature OF the three. and to hay,
played the part which q kindly Womb
often does in literary friendships.
The next chapter In the book is devoted
TO Lambs correspondence with Robert
Lloyd. the latter being then an impetuous
dissatisfied youth, at war with the condi-
tions OF his life. Lamb, while only TWEEN
ty-four and himself much troubled by
what he calls one of his sisters ''old dis
orders" still finds time 10 give sensible
Svmpafhe.fc and inrsiligenf coupsei IN thi,