I was thinking of the Southey and Scott controversy, and wondering if the self-consciousness of the men had anything to do with the personality of their heroes, whether Sir Walter went any deeper into himself than into the rest of mankind, and whether Southey from looking at the outside of himself con amore did not get inside of other humans too. I always do think it a strange thing how one can care so ... continue reading

My dear Miss Butler I must thank you for the motto, I have a certain liking for Götz partly for Sir W Scott’s sake I believe omission /or rather deferring is better than mincing after all, but it is hard to manage to fit all into 80 pages, where the grave, the useful and the gay must each have a fair share, and the dull gets put off & put off till our deferred correspondent ... continue reading