LETTER143

letter143

charleslambtowilliamhazlitt

thursday,15thjan.,1806.

dearhazlitt,—godwinwenttojohnson'syesterdayaboutyourbusiness.johnsonwouldnotcomedown,orgiveanyanswer,buthaspromisedtoopenthemanuscript,andtogiveyouananswerinonemonth.godwinwillpunctuallygoagain(wednesdayisjohnson'sopenday)yesterdayfourweeksnext:i.e.inonelunarmonthfromthistime.tillwhenjohnsonpositivelydeclinesgivinganyanswer.iwishyoujoyonendingyoursearch.mrs.h.wasnamingsomethingaboutalifeoffawcett,tobebyyouundertaken:thegreatfawcett,assheexplain'dtomanning,whenheask'd,whatfawcett?heinnocentlythoughtfawcetttheplayer.butfawcettthedivineisknowntomanypeople,albeitunknowntothechineseenquirer.ishouldthink,ifyoulikedit,andjohnsondeclinedit,thatphillipsistheman.heisperpetuallybringingoutbiographies,richardson,wilkes,foot,leelewis,withoutnumber:littletrimthingsintwoeasyvolumesprice12s.thetwo,madeupofletterstoandfrom,scraps,posthumoustrifles,anecdotes,andaboutfortypagesofhardbiography.youmightdishupafawcetiadin3months,andask60or80poundsforit.ishoulddaresaythatphillipswouldcatchatit—iwrotetoyoutheotherdayinagreathurry.didyougetit?thisismerelyaletterofbusinessatgodwin'srequest.

lordnelsonisquietatlast.hisghostonlykeepsaslightflutteringinodesandelegiesinnewspapers,andimpromptus,whichcouldnotbegotreadybeforethefuneral.

asfornews—wehavemissstoddartinourhouse,shehasbeenwithusafortnightandwillstayaweekorsolonger.sheisoneofthefewpeoplewhoarenotinthewaywhentheyarewithyou.notidingsofcoleridge.fenwickiscomingtotownonmonday(ifnokindangelintervene)tosurrenderhimselftoprison.hehopestogettherulesofthefleet.onthesame,ornearlythesame,day,fell,myotherquondamco-friendanddrinker,willgotonewgate,andhiswifeand4children,isuppose,totheparish.plentyofreflectionandmotivesofgratitudetothewisedisposerofallthingsinus,whoseprudentconducthashithertoensuredusawarmfireandsnugroofoverourheads.nullumnumenabestsisitprudentia.

alas!prudentiaisinthelastquarterofhertutelaryshiningoverme.

alittletimeandi—

butmaybeimay,atlast,hituponsomemodeofcollectingsomeofthevastsuperfluitiesofthismoney-voidingtown.muchistobegot,andidon'twantmuch.alliaskistimeandleisure;andiamcruellyoffforthem.

whenyouhavetheinclination,ishallbeverygladtohavealetterfromyou.—yourbrotherandmrs.h.,iamafraid,thinkhardlyofusfornotcomingoftenertoseethem,butwearedistractedbeyondwhattheycanconceivewithvisitorsandvisitings.ineverhaveanhourformyheadtoworkquietlyitsownworkings;whichyouknowisasnecessarytothehumansystemassleep.

sleep,too,ican'tgetforthesedamn'dwindsofanight:andwithoutsleepandrestwhatshouldensue?lunacy.butitrustitwon't.

yours,dearh.,madorsober,

c.lamb.

[hazlitt'sbusinesswasfindingapublisherforhisabridgmentofsearch(seepage340).johnsonwaspriestley'spublisher.alettertogodwinfromcoleridgeinjune,1803(seekeganpaul'slifeofgodwin,ii.,96),hadestedsuchanabridgment,coleridgeaddingthatafriendofhiswouldmakeit,andthathewouldwriteaprefaceandseetheproofsthroughthepress.hencegodwin'sshareinthematter.coleridge'spartofthetransactionwasnotcarriedout.

hazlitt'slifeofjosephfawcett(?1758-1804),thepoetanddissentingpreacherofwalthamstowandoldjewry,whomhehadknownintimately,wasnotwritten.thefawcettofwhommanning,thechineseenquirer,wasthinkingwasjohnfawcett,famousasdr.panglossandcaleb"em.

"thefleet"—theprisonfordebtorsinfarringdonstreet.closedin1844.therulesofthefleetwerethelimitswithinwhichprisonersfordebtwereundercertainconditionspermittedtolive:thenorthsideofludgatehill,theoldbaileyuptofleetlane,fleetlanetofleetmarket,andthenbacktoludgatehill.therulescostmoney:£10forthefirst£100ofthedebtandforeveryadditional£100,£4.later,fenwickseemstohavesettledinamerica.

hereshouldcomeanundatedlettertohazlitt,accompaniedbytingry'spainter'sandvarnisher'sguide,1804.hazlitt,whowasthenpainting,seemstohavewantedprintsoftrees,probablyforabackground.lambsaysthathehasbeenhuntinginshopwindowsforhim.headds:"tosupplypoetryandwildness,youmayreadtheamericanfarmeroveragain."thepostscriptruns,"johnsonshallnotbeforgotathismonth'send."]