Louise Chandler Moulton, Poet and FriendWhiting, Lilian
General
Louise Chandler Moulton, Poet and Friend
Whiting, Lilian
Moulton, Louise Chandler, 1835-1908
Her friends in London were so many, and the diary records so many
pleasant social diversions that it is no wonder that Thomas Hardy
should write to her: "Why don't you live in London altogether? You
might thus please us, your friends, and send to America letters of a
higher character than are usually penned. You would raise the standard
of that branch of journalism." Season after season she notes dinners,
luncheons, drives, functions of all sorts, and one does not wonder
that with this and her really arduous literary work her health began
to suffer. A German "cure" came to be a regular part of the summer
programme, and yet with her eager temperament and keen interest in the
human, she could not bring herself to forego the excitement and
enjoyment which probably did much to make this necessary.
Not a little did her voluminous correspondence add to the strain
under which she lived. Continually in her diary are entries which show
how heavy was the task of keeping up with the flood of correspondence
which constantly flowed in at her doors. "Letters, letters, letters to
answer. Oh, dear, it seems to me that the whole of my life goes in
writing letters. I wrote what seemed necessary letters till one P.M.
Oh, what shall I do? These letters are ruining my life!" "Letters
_all_ the morning." "Letters till luncheon." Her acquaintance was
wide, and her relations with the literary world of her day made it
inevitable that she should be called upon for large epistolary labors;
but added to this was the burden, already alluded to, of the letters
which came to her from strangers. She was too kindly to ignore or
neglect these, and she expended much of her strength in answer to
calls upon her which were unwarrantably made. Against the greater
amount of literary work which she might have accomplished with the
force thus generously expended, or the possible days which might have
been added to her life, must in the great account be set the pleasure
she gave to many, and the balance is not for man to reckon.
It is now well known that the poems published over the name "Michael
Field" were written by Miss Bradley and Miss Edith Cooper in
conjunction. To Miss Cooper, Mrs. Moulton, in the intimacy of a warm
friendship which established itself between them, gave in loving
familiarity the name "Amber Eyes." Many letters were exchanged, and
from the correspondence of Miss Cooper may be quoted these fragments.
_Miss Cooper to Mrs. Moulton_
"We have just returned from Fiesole and Orvieto, and such
names are poems. I had hoped to send you verses in _The
Academy_, welded by Michael, on some Greek goddess in the
British Museum. We very much care for the sympathy and
interest of Americans."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account