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　　LETTER 438

　　CHARLES LAMB TO BERNARD BARTON

　　[No date. Late 1827.]

　　My dear B.B.—You will understand my silence when I tell you that my sister, on the very eve of entering into a new house we have taken at Enfield, was surprised with an attack of one of her sad long illnesses, which deprive me of her society, tho' not of her domestication, for eight or nine weeks together. I see her, but it does her no good. But for this, we have the snuggest, most comfortable house, with every thing most compact and desirable. Colebrook is a wilderness. The Books, prints, etc., are come here, and the New River came down with us. The familiar Prints, the Bust, the Milton, seem scarce to have changed their rooms. One of her last observations was "how frightfully like this room is to our room in Islington"—our up-stairs room, she meant. How I hope you will come some better day, and judge of it! We have tried quiet here for four months, and I will answer for the comfort of it enduring.

　　On emptying my bookshelves I found an Ulysses, which I will send to A.K. when I go to town, for her acceptance— unless the Book be out of print. One likes to have one copy of every thing one does. I neglected to keep one of "Poetry for Children," the joint production of Mary and me, and it is not to be had for love or money. It had in the title-page "by the author of Mrs. Lester's School." Know you any one that has it, and would exchange it?

　　Strolling to Waltham Cross the other day, I hit off these lines. It is one of the Crosses which Edw'd 1st caused to be built for his wife at every town where her corpse rested between Northamptonsh'r and London.

　　A stately Cross each sad spot doth attest,

　　Whereat the corpse of Elinor did rest,

　　From Herdby fetch'd—her Spouse so honour'd her—

　　To sleep with royal dust at Westminster.

　　And, if less pompous obsequies were thine,

　　Duke Brunswick's daughter, princely Caroline,

　　Grudge not, great ghost, nor count thy funeral losses:

　　Thou in thy life-time had'st thy share of crosses.

　　My dear B.B.—My head akes with this little excursion. Pray accept 2 sides for 3 for once.

　　And believe me

　　Yours sadly C.L.

　　Chace side Enfield.

　　["An Ulysses"—Lamb's book for children, The Adventures of Ulysses, 1808.

　　The Poetry for Children. The known copies of the first edition of this work can be counted on the fingers.

　　"A stately Cross…" These verses were printed in the Englishman's Magazine in September, 1831. Lamb's sympathies were wholly with Caroline of Brunswick, as his epigrams in The Champion show (see Vol. IV. of this edition).] The Works of Charles and Mary Lamb — Volume 6