The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb — Volume 4: Poems and PlaysLamb, Charles
General
The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb — Volume 4: Poems and Plays
Lamb, Charles
English drama; English poetry
It will be observed that that second copy sent to Kemble must have
differed essentially from the one sent to Manning, for the latter
includes the witch story, and retains in its original place the
soliloquy about England getting drunk.
To this copy sent to Manning we now come in chronological order, but the
exact date of its despatch must remain uncertain. Clearly it was
subsequent, but probably not long subsequent, to Kemble's rejection of
the play, which took place soon after All Souls' Day, for Kemble must
have made up his mind within half an hour of taking up the manuscript. I
venture to assume that the argosy which bore all the treasures recounted
in the following bill of lading sailed about Christmas, 1800. It is sad
to think that the bill of lading itself and the MS. of "Pride's Cure"
are the only salvage.
"I send you all of Coleridge's letters to me which I have preserved;
some of them are upon the subject of my play. I also send you Kemble's
two letters, and the prompter's courteous epistle, with a curious
critique on 'Pride's Cure' by a young Physician from EDINBORO', who
modestly suggests quite another kind of plot. These are monuments of my
disappointments which I like to preserve ...You will carefully keep all
(except the Scotch Doctor's, _which burn_) _in statu quo_ till I come to
claim mine own."
On the reverse of the half-sheet is written: "For Mister Manning |
Teacher of the Mathematics | and the Black Arts, | There is another
letter in the inside cover of the book opposite the blank leaf that
_was_."
[This is the other letter, written inside the board cover of the copy of
the play, in Charles Lamb's hand:--
"Mind this goes for a letter. (Acknowledge it directly, if only in ten
words.)
"DEAR MANNING:
"(I shall want to hear this comes safe.)
"I have scratched out a good deal, as you will see. Generally, what I
have rejected was either _false_ in _feeling_, or a violation of
character, mostly of the first sort. I will here just instance in the
concluding few lines of the dying Lover's story, which completely
contradicted his character of _violent_ and _unreproachful_. I hesitated
a good while what copy to send you, and at last resolved to send the
_worst_, because you are familiar with it and can make it out; a
stranger would find so much difficulty in doing it, that it would give
him more pain than pleasure. This is compounded precisely of the two
persons' hands you requested it should be.
"Yours sincerely,
"C. LAMB."
The two persons were undoubtedly Charles Lamb and his sister.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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