INTRODUCTION. SOUTHEY'S "Life of Nelson" was first published in 1813, and was followed in 1814 by the best of his 66 long poems, Roderick, the Last of the Goths." He was busy upon the two works at the same time, to his genius a happy time, for the "Life of Nelson " is usually regarded as the best of Southey's prose works. It was written in the year when he was made Poet Laureate. His age then was a little under forty. He had been settled for about seven years at Keswick, where he lived simply, and enjoyed his daily work. Two old school friends who acquired political influence had obtained for him a pension of £200. It was reduced by deductions of fees to £144; but that was addition enough to his earnings, which, without such help, would have been sometimes barely sufficient for his simple wants. Simple as Southey's wants were, they included for him, not only the maintenance of his own wife and children, but also the support of others who looked up to him for help. He worked happily in his study, loved his wife and children, took also much care of Coleridge's children, one of whom, Sara, was cared for and included in the household as if she had been a child of his own. Southey had no private means except about £400 in Consols, and a few years after 1813 he gave that away to a ruined friend. In 1809 the establishment of the Quarterly Review, which desired his service as a contributor, added to Southey's means of earning. It was to the Quarterly that he sent the article on Nelson which was expanded afterwards into this piece of biography. When invited by the publishers to expand his sketch into a volume, Southey did not greatly care to do so. But he set to work with his usual goodhumour, and when the book was finished he confessed that he had satisfied himself in the execution far better than he had expected. He had taken very great pains to make his account everywhere clear, a want of clearness having been the fault of all preceding biographies of Nelson. He told a friend that he had found the materials themselves so full of character, so picturesque, and sometimes even sublime, that the book could not fail to become a good one. As for the nautical part, he had walked, he said, among sea terms as carefully as a cat does among crockery. It The book was at once thoroughly successful. has passed through many editions, and will remain to the English people as the book through which their children's children, to the end of time, will read the life of this one of their heroes. H. M. |