1433. Robert Southey to Thomas Southey, [28 March 1808]
1433. Robert Southey to Thomas Southey, [28 March 1808] *
Monday
My dear Tom
God be thanked my stay in this hateful town is well nigh at an end. At three o clock – that is within the next twenty minutes the cart comes which conveys the land division of books to the waggon. At ten tomorrow comes a waggon for those who go by sea, & in all 21 tea chests, & a box as big as two. [1] A pretty labour it has been to pack them, & ten times worse it would have been, if I had not taken it leisurely, & done something towards it, more or less, every day.
Tomorrow at four in the afternoon I start for Salisbury, & Friday leave Salisbury for Taunton. Monday I hope to get to Pooles, & either Tuesday or Wednesday to Bristol. I think you had better not join me at Stowey, because you could not come so near Mr T Southey without offending him. – unless you went on.
When we meet you shall hear the whole history of four weeks spent in incessant labour of one kind or other. I have not written to Lloyd because it has been absolutely impossible unless the time had been stolen from sleep. Neither you nor any one else who has not seen it – can conceive how unremittingly I have been busied in one way or other –
God bless you
RS.
Notes
* MS: British Library, Add MS 47890. ALS; 2p.
Dating note: Dated from internal evidence.
Southey left London for Salisbury on Tuesday 29 March 1808. BACK
[1] Having decided to remain at Greta Hall the previous year, Southey had been steadily arranging for his books, which had been stored by friends in London and the West Country, to be collected together. BACK
