Tags:

Elderfield, Otterbourne, Winchester.
Feb 17 th [1877]

MS Mrs Clare Roels1

My dear Christabel

It is a beautiful story If May & I could be girls again how we should rave about those princes. I hope some one else is capable. One or two things- Why were appletrees rare? I thought they were genuine old English I’m sure crabs are! Alvarez is a patronymic he should be Alvare, and the Portuguese would have called Sir Walter Don Guiltierre

I think the brothers would have called Fernando Fernan. About Leila is the weak point, in spite of Calderon I doubt about merchants, slaves and ladies all running about the gardens together The slaves might being only chattels, but the merchants seeing the faces is the improbable and the killing her is rather shuffled up. I wish you would let her be redeemed and go home, it would save a little sadness, & then Harry would have earned her sister. It ought to be explained too what became of Father Martin. Could not Fernando have seen him as a prisoner

As to the S P C K, I shall always believe that it was afraid of the Pope, especially as he was right.2 Every little RC expression however in character is scored in pencil Those brothers are most beautiful, but do let Fernando have the comfort of seeing Leila redeemed

yours affectionately
C M Yonge

1Endorsed ‘In envelope marked Fe 1877'.
2The SPCK had evidently turned down the manuscript of Coleridge's novel The Constant Prince, which is being discussed here.

Cite this letter


The Letters of Charlotte Mary Yonge(1823-1901) edited by Charlotte Mitchell, Ellen Jordan and Helen Schinske.

URL to this Letter is: https://c21ch.newcastle.edu.au/yonge/2573/to-christabel-rose-coleridge-87

Leave a comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.