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LETTER 158（第1页）

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LETTER158

CHARLESLAMBTOTHOMASMANNING

5thDec.，1806.

TuthillisatCrabtreeswhohasmarriedTuthillssister.

Manning，yourletterdatedHottentots，Augustthewhat-was-it?cametohand.Icanscarcehopethatminewillhavethesameluck.China—Canton—blessus—howitstrainstheimaginationandmakesitache!Iwriteunderanotheruncertainty，whetheritcangoto-morrowbyashipwhichIhavejustlearnedisgoingoffdirecttoyourpartoftheworld，orwhetherthedespatchesmaynotbesealedupandthishavetowait，forifitisdetainedhere，itwillgrowstalerinafortnightthaninafivemonthsvoyageingtoyou.Itwillbeapointofconsciencetosendyounonebutbrand-newnews（thelatestedition），whichwillbutgrowthebetter，likeoranges，foraseavoyage.Oh，thatyoushouldbesomanyhemispheresoff—ifIspeakincorrectlyyoucancorrectme—why，thesimplestdeathormarriagethattakesplaceheremustbeimportanttoyouasnewsintheoldBastile.TheresyourfriendTuthillhasgotawayfromFrance—yourememberFrance?andTuthill?—ten-to-onebuthewritesbythispost，ifhedontgetmynoteintime，apprisinghimofthevesselsailing.KnowthenthathehasfoundmeanstoobtainleavefromBonapartewithoutmakinguseofanyincredibleromanticpretencesassomehavedone，whonevermeanttofulfilthem，toehome;andIhaveseenhimhereandatHolcrofts.Ihavelikewiseseenhiswife，thiselegantlittleFrenchwomanwhosehairreachestoherheels—bythesametokenthatTom（TommyH.）tooktheboutofherhead，notexpectingtheissue，anditfelldowntothegroundtohisutterconsternation，twoellslong.AntyougladaboutTuthill?NowthenbesorryforHolcroft，whosenewplay，called"TheVindictiveMan，"wasdamnedaboutafortnightsince.Itdiedinpartofitsownweakness，andinpartforbeingchokedupwithbadactors.ThetwoprincipalpartsweredestinedtoMrs.JordanandMr.Bannister，butMrs.J.hasnotetotermswiththemanagers，theyhavehadsomesquabble，andBannistershotsomeofhisfingersoffbythegoingoffofagun.SoMissDuncanhadherpart，andMr.deCamp，avulgarbrotherofMissDeCamp，tookhis.Heisafellowwiththemakeofajockey，andtheairofalamplighter.Hispart，theprincipalichopeoftheplay，wasmostunluckilyGoldfinch，takenoutofthe"RoadtoRuin，"notonlythesamecharacter，buttheidenticalGoldfinch—thesameasFalstaffisintwoplaysofShakspeare.Asthedevilofill-luckwouldhaveit，halftheaudiencedidnotknowthatH.hadwrittenit，butweredispleasedathisstealingfromthe"RoadtoRuin;"andthosewhomighthaveborneagentlemanlycoxbwithhis"Thatsyoursort，""Goit"—suchasLewisis—didnotrelishtheintolerablevulgarityandinanityoftheideastriptofhismanner.DeCampwashooted，morethanhist，hootedandbellowedoffthestagebeforethesecondactwasfinished，sothattheremainderofhispartwasforcedtobe，withsomeviolencetotheplay，omitted.Inadditiontothis，awhorewasanotherprincipalcharacter—amostunfortunatechoiceinthismoralday.Theaudiencewereasscandalisedasifyouweretointroducesuchapersonagetotheirprivatetea-tables.Besides，heractionintheplaywasgross—wheedlinganoldmanintomarriage.Butthemortalblunderoftheplaywasthatwhich，oddlyenough，H.tookpridein，andexultinglytoldmeofthenightbeforeitcameout，thattherewerenolessthanelevenprincipalcharactersinit，andIbelievehemeantofthemenonly，fortheplay-billexprestasmuch，notreckoningonewomanandonewhore;andtrueitwas，forMr.Powell，Mr.Raymond，Mr.Bartlett，Mr.H.Siddons，Mr.Barrymore，&c.&c.

，—tothenumberofeleven，hadallpartsequallyprominent，andtherewasasmuchoftheminquantityandrankasoftheheroandheroine—andmostofthemgentlemenwhoseldomappearbutastheherosfriendinafarce—foraminuteortwo—andheretheyallhadtheirten-minutespeeches，andoneofthemgavetheaudienceaseriousaccounthowhewasnowalawyerbuthadbeenapoet，andthenalongenumerationoftheinconveniencesofauthorship，rascallybooksellers，reviewers，&c.;whichfirstsettheaudiencea-gaping;butIhavesaidenough.Youwillbesosorry，thatyouwillnotthinkthebestofmeformydetail;butnewsisnewsatCanton.PoorH.Ifearwillfeelthedisappointmentveryseriouslyinapecuniarylight.FromwhatIcanlearnhehassavednothing.YouandIwerehopingonedaythathehad;butIfearhehasnothingbuthispicturesandbooks，andanoveryflourishingbusiness，andtobeobligedtopartwithhislong-neckedGuidothathangsoppositeasyouenter，andthegame-piecethathangsinthebackdrawing-room，andallthoseVandykes，&c.!Godshouldtemperthewindtotheshornconnoisseur.IhopeIneednotsaytoyou，thatIfeelfortheweather-beatenauthorandforallhishousehold.IassureyouhisfatehassouredagooddealthepleasureIshouldhaveotherwisetakeninmyownlittlefarcebeingaccepted，andIhopeabouttobeacted—itisinrehearsalactually，andIexpectittoeoutnextweek.Itiskeptasortofsecret，andtherehearsalshavegoneonprivately，lestbymanyfolksknowingit，thestoryshouldeout，whichwouldinfalliblydamnit.YourememberIhadsentitbeforeyouwent.Wroughtonreadit，andwasmuchpleasedwithit.Ispeedilygotananswer.Itookittomakealterations，andlazilykeptitsomemonths，thentookcourageandfurbisheditupinadayortwoandtookit.InlessthanafortnightIheardtheprincipalpartwasgiventoElliston，wholikedit，andonlywantedaprologue，whichIhavesincedoneandsent;andIhadanotethedaybeforeyesterdayfromthemanager，Wroughton（blesshisfatface—heisnotabadactorinsomethings），tosaythatIshouldbesummonedtotherehearsalafterthenext，whichnextwastobeyesterday.Ihadnoideaitwassoforward.Ihavehadnotrouble，attendednoreadingorrehearsal，madenointerest;whatacontrasttotheusualparadeofauthors!Butitispeculiartomodestytodoallthingswithoutnoiseorpomp!IhavesomesuspicionitwillappearinpubliconWednesdaynext，forW.saysinhisnote，itissoforwardthatifwanteditmayeoutnextweek，andanewmelo-dramaisannouncedforeverydaytillthen:and"anewfarceisinrehearsal，"isputupinthebills.Nowyoudliketoknowthesubject.Thetitleis"Mr.H.，"nomore;howsimple，howtaking!AgreatH.sprawlingovertheplay-billandattractingeyesateverycorner.ThestoryisacoxbappearingatBath，vastlyrich—alltheladiesdyingforhim—allburstingtoknowwhoheis—buthegoesbynoothernamethanMr.H.—acuriositylikethatofthedamesofStrasburgaboutthemanwiththegreatnose.ButIwonttellyouanymoreaboutit.Yes，Iwill;butIcantgiveyouanideahowIhavedoneit.Illjusttellyouthataftermuchvehementadmiration，whenhistruenameesout，"Hogsflesh，"allthewomenshunhim，avoidhim，andnotonecanbefoundtochangetheirnameforhim—thatstheidea—howflatitishere!—buthowwhimsicalinthefarce!andonlythinkhowharduponmeitisthattheshipisdespatchedto-morrow，andmytriumphcannotbeascertainedtilltheWednesdayafter—butallChinawillringofitbyandby.N.B.（Butthisisasecret）.TheProfessorhasgotatragedyingoutwiththeyoungRosciusinitinJanuarynext，aswesay—Januarylastitwillbewithyou—andthoughitisaprofoundsecretnow，asallhisaffairsare，itcannotbemuchofonebythetimeyoureadthis.

However，dontletitgoanyfurther.IunderstandtherearedramaticexhibitionsinChina.Onewouldnotliketobeforestalled.DoyoufindinallthisstuffIhavewrittenanythinglikethosefeelingswhichoneshouldsendmyoldadventuringfriend，thatisgonetowanderamongTartarsandmaynevereagain?Idont—butyourgoingaway，andallaboutyou，isathreadbaretopic.Ihavewornitoutwiththinking—ithasetomewhenIhavebeendullwithanything，tillmysadnesshasseemedmoretohaveefromitthantohaveintroducedit.Iwantyou，youdontknowhowmuch—butifIhadyouhereinmyEuropeangarret，weshouldbuttalkoversuchstuffasIhavewritten—so—.Those"TalesfromShakespear"arenearingout，andMaryhasbegunanewwork.Mr.Daweisturnedauthor:hehasbeeninsuchawaylately—Dawethepainter，Imean—hesitsandstandsaboutatHolcroftsandsaysnothing—thensighsandleanshisheadonhishand.Itookhimtobeinlove—butitseemshewasonlymeditatingawork，—"TheLifeofMorland，"—theyoungmanisnotusedtoposition.RickmanandCaptainBurneyarewell;theyassembleatmyhouseprettyregularlyofaWednesday—anewinstitution.LikeothergreatmenIhaveapublicday，cribbageandpipes，withPhillipsandnoisyMartin.

GoodHeaven!whatabitonlyIvegotleft!HowshallIsqueezeallIknowintothismorsel!Coleridgeisehome，andisgoingtoturnlecturerontasteattheRoyalInstitution.Ishallget￡200fromthetheatreif"Mr.H."hasagoodrun，andIhope￡100forthecopyright.Nothingifitfails;andthereneverwasamoreticklishthing.Thewholedependsonthemannerinwhichthenameisbroughtout，whichIvaluemyselfon，asachef-doeuvre.Howthepapergrowslessandless!InlessthantwominutesIshallceasetotalktoyou，andyoumayravetotheGreatWallofChina.N.B.Istheresuchawall!IsitasbigasOldLondonWallbyBedlam?Haveyoumetwithafriendofmine，namedBall，atCanton?—ifyouareacquainted，remembermekindlytohiAmongstmanyqueercattleIhaveanddomeetwithattheIndiaHo.Ialwayslikedhisbehaviour.TellhimhisfriendEvans&c.arewell.Woodruffnotdeadyet.May-be，youllthinkIhavenotsaidenoughofTuthillandtheHolcrofts.Tuthillisanoblefellow，asfarasIcanjudge.TheHolcroftsbeartheirdisappointmentprettywell，butindeedtheyaresadlymortified.Mrs.H.iscastdown.Itwaswell，ifitwerebutonthisaccount，thatTuthillisehome.N.B.Ifmylittlethingdontsucceed，Ishalleasilysurvive，having，asitwere，paredtoH.sventure，butasixteenthinthelottery.MaryandIaretositnexttheorchestrainthepit，nextthetweedledees.Sheremembersyou.Youaremoretousthanfivehundredfarces，clappings，&c.

Comebackoneday.C.LAMB.

[TheletterisaddressedtoT.Manning，Esq.，Canton.AttheendLambadds:—

"Holcrofthasjustwrittomeasfollows:—

"DEARSIR，MissL.hasinformedusyouarewritingtoManning.WillyoubekindenoughtoinformhimdirectlyfrommethatIandmyfamilyaremosttrulyanxiousforhissafety;thatifprayingcouldbringdownblessingsonhimweshouldpraymorningnoonandnight;thathisandourgoodfriendstheTuthillsareoncemorehappilysafeinEngland，andthatIearnestlyentreatnotonlyasingleletterbutacorrespondencewithhimwheneverthething[is]practicable，withsuchanaddressasmaymakelettersfrommelikelytofindhiInshort，dearsir，ifyouwillbekindenoughtospeakofmetoManning，youcannotspeakwithgreaterfriendshipandrespectthanIfeel.

"Yourswithtruefriendshipandkindness."

InthebeginningofthisletterweseethefirstgermofanideaafterwardsdevelopedinthelettertoBarrenFieldofAugust31，1817，andagain，morefully，intheEliaessay"DistantCorrespondents."

Tuthill，afterwardsSirGeorgeLemanTuthill（1772-1835），wasthephysicianwho，onavisittoParis，wasincludedamongtheEnglishdétenusandheldacaptiveforseveralyears.HewasreleasedonlyafterhiswifehadmadeapersonalappealtoNapoleononhisreturnfromhunting.Thewords"incredibleromanticpretences"referchaffinglytoManningsapplicationtoNapoleonforlibertytoreturntoEnglandtwoorthreeyearspreviously.Holcrofts"VindictiveMan"wasproducedatDruryLaneonNovember20，1806.Itwasapletefailure.His"RoadtoRuin，"producedin1792atCoventGarden，with"Gentleman"LewisasGoldfinch，hadbeenagreatsuccessandisstilloccasionallyplayed.Holcroftwasalsoaveryvoluminousauthorandtranslator，andthepartnerofhisbrother-in-law，Mercier，inaprintingbusiness，which，however，wasunprofitable.TommywasHolcroftsson.

"ThedamesofStrasburg"—inTristramShandy，Vol.IV.

"TheProfessorhasatragedy."Thiswas"Faulkener，"forwhichLambwrotetheprologue.OwingtothecapriciousnessofMasterBetty，theYoungRoscius，itwasnotproduceduntilDecember16，1807，andthenwithEllistonintheprincipalpart.Itwasonlypartiallysuccessful，aresultforwhichGodwinblamedHolcroft，whohadrevisedtheplay.

MaryLambsnewworkwasMrs.LeicestersSchool.

"Mr.Daweisturnedauthor."TheLifeofGeorgeMorland，byGeorgeDawe，waspublishedin1807.

ColeridgesintendedseriesoflecturesonTastewasabandoned.HedidnotactuallydeliveranyuntilJanuary12，1808.]

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