Part 3

It is rather surprising to read in the _People's Cyclopedia_, Johnson's, Lippincott's and elsewhere, that Tennyson was raised to the peerage in 1883 as "Baron d'Eyncourt," etc. This he cannot properly be called, though a descendant from the ancient house of D'Eyncourt--which long ago ceased to be a barony. The pedigree of Alfred's grandfather, who belonged to the Lincolnshire gentry, is traced through ten generations to Edmund, Duke of Somerset, and two centuries further back to Edward III.'s fourth son, John of Gaunt. Dr. Tennyson died in the lifetime of his father, and the D'Eyncourt seat and dignity passed to his younger brother Charles. The poet's cousin Louis Charles is the present possessor of the family estate at Bayons. England's noble Laureate (according to Burke's _Peerage_, ed. of 1888, p. 1361) was created a peer of the realm Jan. 24, 1884, with the new title--Baron of Aldworth, Surrey, and of Farringford, Isle of Wight. He took his seat in the House of Lords, Mar. 11, 1884.[44]

LAPSES IN ENGLISH GEOGRAPHY.

A common mistake is that of locating Aldworth in Sussex. Mr. Frederick Dolman, in the _Ladies' Home Journal_ (August, 1891), carelessly speaks of "the poet's residences in the fair Isle and sunny Sussex." According to Murray's _Handbook for Surrey_ (ed. of 1888, p. 182), and other excellent authorities,[45] Aldworth is in the county of Surrey--not far from the northern borders of Sussex. In Walford's _County Families of the United Kingdom_, p. 1203, Lord Tennyson's name occurs among the land owners of Surrey--not with those of Sussex.

Somersby and Somerby have been mixed by many people who are not familiar with English geography. The latter village is in the western part of Lincolnshire, near Grantham--a considerable distance from Alfred Tennyson's birthplace. Duyckinck, in his _Eminent Men and Women_, recklessly says he was born at "Somerby, a small parish in Leicestershire."[46]

If Europeans are guilty of crass ignorance of the United States, Americans too are open to criticism for their hazy notions of foreign places. An inexcusable blunder is that in Phillips' _Popular Manual of English Literature_, vol. II., p. 497, where Blackdown is loosely referred to as "a hill in the vicinity of Petersfield, Hampshire." Another writer is remiss in accepting statements implicitly and without question. A footnote in Kellogg's school edition of "In Memoriam," p. 23, says "Hallam was buried in Cleveland Church on the Severn, which empties into British Channel." If he had looked up the town for himself on the map of England, he would have discovered that Clevedon, the birthplace of Hallam, is situated on the bank of the Severn near its entrance to the Bristol Channel.

VARIOUS ERRORS.

It is not my purpose to enumerate all the errors that I have come across in my reading relating to Tennyson and his works. For the sake of brevity, I merely correct a few of them without giving full particulars in every case. Tennyson first visited the Pyrenees in 1830--not in 1831; the second visit was in 1862. He received the degree of D. C. L. in 1855--not in 1859. His son Hallam was born at Twickenham, Aug. 11, 1852; Lionel, at Freshwater, Mar. 16, 1854.

Tennyson did not write "Break, break, break" at Clevedon or Freshwater. The intercalary lyrics of "The Princess" were first published in the third edition--not in the second. The plot of "The Cup" is taken from Plutarch's treatise _De Mulierum Virtutibus_; this work has been confused by Archer and Jennings with Boccaccio's _De Claris Mulieribus_.

Many unpardonable mistakes have been made in dating Tennyson's published writings, also in wording and punctuating their titles. It has been said that "The Princess" first appeared in print in 1846 and 1849; "In Memoriam," in 1849 and 1851; "Idyls of the King," in 1855, 1858, and 1861; "Enoch Arden," in 1865; "The Holy Grail, and Other Poems," in 1867 and 1870; "Harold," in 1877; "Becket," in 1879 and 1885; "Tiresias, and Other Poems," in 1886; and "Demeter, and Other Poems," in 1890. In Hart's _Manual of English Literature_, one of Tennyson's poems is named "The Vision of Art," and a recent German cyclopedia makes him the author of "Tristam and Iseult." A newspaper account of the sale of Tennysoniana in London contains the queer bit of misinformation that _Poems by Two Brothers_ "was published by Louth in 1826." These slips could have been easily avoided. The mystery hanging about the Laureate's life does not involve his works.

It is believed that the following list, which has been carefully verified, is correct both as to the titles and the dates of first publication of all of Tennyson's books, viz:

Poems by Two Brothers 1826 (dated 1827) Poems, chiefly Lyrical 1830 Poems 1832 (dated 1833) Poems, 2 vols. 1842 The Princess 1847 In Memoriam 1850 Maud, and Other Poems 1855 Idyls of the King 1859 Enoch Arden, etc. 1864 The Holy Grail, and Other Poems 1869 Gareth and Lynette, etc. 1872 Queen Mary 1875 Harold 1876 The Lover's Tale 1879 Ballads, and Other Poems 1880 The Cup and The Falcon 1884 Becket 1884 Tiresias, and Other Poems 1885 Locksley Hall Sixty Years After, etc. 1886 Demeter, and Other Poems 1889 The Foresters 1892

TRANSLATIONS OF TENNYSON'S WORKS.

GERMAN.

_Gedichte_: ueb. von W. Hertzberg. Dessau, 1853. Dresden, 1868.

_Ausgewaehlte Dichtungen_: ueb. von A. Strodtmann (Bibliothek Klassiker in deutscher Uebertragung. Leipzig, 1865-70).

_Ausgewaehlte Dichtungen_: ueb. von H. A. Feldmann. Hamburg, 1870. (Bib. ausl. Klassiker).

_Ausgewaehlte Gedichte_: ueb. von M. Rugard. Elbing, 1872.

_In Memoriam_: Aus dem Engl. nach der 5. Aufl. Braunschweig, 1854.

_Freundes-Klage._ Nach "In Memoriam," frei uebertragen von R. Waldmueller-Duboc. Hamburg, 1870.

_In Memoriam_: ueb. von Agnes von Bohlen. Berlin, 1874.

_Maud_: ueb. von F. W. Weber. Paderborn, 1891.

_Koenigsidyllen_: ueb. von W. Scholz. Berlin, 1867.

_Koenigsidyllen_: ueb. von H. A. Feldmann. Hamburg, 1872.

_Koenigsidyllen_: ueb. von C. Weiser (vols. 1817, 1818 Universal-Bibliothek, Leipzig, 1883-6).

_Enoch Arden_: ueb. von R. Schellwien. Quedlinburg, 1867.

_Enoch Arden_: ueb. von R. Waldmueller-Duboc. Hamburg, 1868-70.

_Enoch Arden_: ueb. von F. W. Weber. Leipzig, 1869.

_Enoch Arden_ und _Godiva_: ueb. von H. A. Feldmann. Hamburg, 1870.

_Enoch Arden_: ueb. von C. Hessel. Leipzig, 1874. (490 in Universal-Bibliothek).

_Enoch Arden_: ueb. von A. Strodtmann. Berlin, 1876.

_Enoch Arden_: ueb. von C. Eichholz. Hamburg, 1881.

_Enoch Arden_: ueb. von H. Griebenow. Halle, 1889. (Bib. der Gesammt-Litteratur).

_Enoch Arden_: frei bearbeitet fuer die Jugend. Leipzig, 1888.

_Aylmers Feld_: ueb. von F. W. Weber. Leipzig, 1869.

_Aylmers Feld_: ueb. von H. A. Feldmann. Ebend, 1870.

_Harald_: ueb. von Albr. Graf Wickenburg. Hamburg, 1879.

_Locksley Hall_: ueb. von F. Freiligrath--_Locksley Hall sechzig Jahre spaeter_: ueb. von J. Feis. Hamburg, 1888.

_Locksley Hall sechzig Jahre spaeter_: ueb von K. B. Esmarch. Gotha, 1888.

DUTCH.

_The Miller's Daughter._ Freely tr. by A. J. de Bull. Utrecht, 1859.

_Vier Idyllen van Konig Arthur._ Amsterdam, 1883.

_Enoch Arden._ Tr. by S. J. van den Bergh. Rotterdam, 1869.

_Enoch Arden._ Tr. by J. L. Wertheim. Amsterdam, 1882.

DANISH AND NORWEGIAN.

_The May Queen._ Tr. by L. Falck. Christiania, 1855.

_Anna og Locksley Slot._ Oversat af A. Hansen. 1872.

_Idyller om Kong Arthur._ Ov. af A. Munch. 1876.

_Enoch Arden._ Tr. by A. Munch. Copenhagen, 1866.

_Sea Dreams_ and _Aylmer's Field_. Tr. by F. L. Mynster. 1877.

SWEDISH.

_Konung Arthur och hans riddare._ Romantish diktcykel. Upsala, 1876.

_Elaine._ Endikt. Tr. by A. Hjelmstjerna. 1877.

FRENCH.

_Les Idylles du Roi._ Enide, Viviane, Elaine, Genievre. Trad. par F. Michel. 1869.

_Enoch Arden._ Trad. par M. de La Rive. 1870.

_Enoch Arden._ Trad. par X. Marmier. 1887.

_Enoch Arden._ Trad. par M. l'abbe R. Courtois. 2e edition. 1890.

_Enoch Arden._ Trad. par E. Duglin. 1890.

_Idylles et Poemes_: _Enoch Arden_: _Locksley Hall_. Traduits en vers francais par A. Buisson du Berger. 1888.

SPANISH.

_Enid_ and _Elaine_. Tr. by L. Gisbert. 1875.

_Poemes de Alfredo Tennyson_--_Enoch Arden_, _Gareth y Lynette_, _Merlin y Bibiana_, etc. Tr. by D. Vicente de Arana. Barcelona, 1883.

ITALIAN.

_Idilli, Liriche, Mite e Leggende, Enoc Arden._ Tr. by C. Faccioli. Verona, 1876.

_Tommaso Crammero e Maria e Filippo._[47] Tr. by C. Faccioli. Verona, 1878.

_Il Primo Diverbio._[48] Tr. by E. Castelnuovo. Venice, 1886.

_La Prima Lite._[48] Tr. by P. T. Pavolini. Bologna, 1888.

LATIN.

_In Memoriam._ Tr. into Elegiac verse by O. A. Smith. 1866.

_Enoch Arden_: Poema Tennysonianum Latine Redditum W. Selwyn. London, 1867.

_Horae Tennysonianae_: sive Eclogae e Tennysono Latine Redditae A. J. Church. London and Cambridge, 1870.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Three volumes of verse by Frederick Tennyson have appeared, viz.: _Days and Hours_ (1854); _Isles of Greece; Sappho and Alcaeus_ (1890); _Daphne, and Other Poems_ (1801). The published works of Charles Turner are as follows: _Sonnets and Fugitive Pieces_ (1830); _Sonnets_ (1864); _Small Tableaux_ (1868); _Sonnets, Lyrics and Translations_ (1873); _Collected Sonnets, Old and New_ (1880). Edward Tennyson (1813-1890) achieved something of a reputation as a versifier; he contributed a sonnet to the _Yorkshire Annual_ for 1832.

[2] Edward Fitzgerald, in a letter written in 1835, says: "I will say no more of Tennyson than that the more I have seen of him, the more cause I have to think him great. His little humours and grumpinesses were so droll, that I was always laughing.... I felt what Charles Lamb describes, a sense of depression at times from the overshadowing of a so much more lofty intellect than my own."--_Letters and Literary Remains_, vol. i.

[3] "Tennyson has been in town for some time: he has been making fresh poems, which are finer, they say, than any he has done. But I believe he is chiefly meditating on the purging and subliming of what he has already done: and repents that he has published at all yet. It is fine to see how in each succeeding poem the smaller ornaments and fancies drop away, and leave the grand ideas single."--_Letters of Edward Fitzgerald_, vol. i., p. 21.

Extract from a letter dated October 23, 1833.

[4] "Alfred Tennyson dined with us. I am always a little disappointed with the exterior of our poet when I look at him, in spite of his eyes, which are very fine; but his head and face, striking and dignified as they are, are almost too ponderous and massive for beauty in so young a man; and every now and then there is a slightly sarcastic expression about his mouth that almost frightens me, in spite of his shy manner and habitual silence."--Fanny Kemble's _Records of a Girlhood_, pp. 519-20.

This entry in Fanny Kemble's journal is dated June 16, 1832.

[5] Fitzgerald, in a letter written in London (April, 1838) says: "We have had Alfred Tennyson here; very droll, and very wayward: and much sitting up of nights till two and three in the morning with pipes in our mouths: at which good hour we would get Alfred to give us some of his magic music, which he does between growling and smoking."--_Letters and Literary Remains_, vol. i., pp. 42, 43.

[6] Milnes, in a letter dated July 20, 1856, gives this glimpse of the Laureate's domestic life: "He is himself much happier than he used to be, and devoted to his children, who are beautiful."--_Reid's Life of Lord Houghton_, Vol. I.

[7] The time of Tennyson's removal from Twickenham to Farringford can be fixed with tolerable definiteness. Fitzgerald writes (Oct. 25, 1853): "I am going to see the last of the Tennysons at Twickenham;" and again (in December, 1853): "I hear from Mrs. Alfred they are got to their new abode in the Isle of Wight."--_Letters and Literary Remains_, vol. i., pp. 225-6.

[8] In 1865, Alfred Tennyson was elected a member of the Royal Society; in 1869, an honorary fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge; and, in 1884, president of the Incorporated Society of Authors. He is also president of the London Library.

[9] "An interesting fact relating to the poet's descent may here be mentioned. His mother's mother (Mrs. Fytche) was a granddaughter of a certain Mons. Fauvelle, a French Huguenot, who was related to Madame de Maintenon."--Church's _Laureate's Country_, p. 10.

[10] Edward Fitzgerald, in a letter written soon after Charles Turner's death (April 25, 1879), says: "Tennyson's elder, not eldest, brother is dead; and I was writing only yesterday to persuade Spedding to insist on Macmillan publishing a complete edition of Charles' Sonnets: graceful, tender, beautiful, and quite original little things."--_Letters and Literary Remains_, vol. i., p. 437.

[11] Mary Tennyson (1810-1884) married the Hon. Alan Ker, Puisine Judge of the Supreme Court of Jamaica.

[12] Emily Tennyson (1811-1887), who was betrothed to Arthur Hallam about 1830, became the wife of Capt. Richard Jesse, R. N.

[13] The Hon. Lionel Tennyson was attacked by jungle fever during a visit to India, and died on board the Chusan, near Aden, April 20, 1886, aged thirty-two. He was a profound student of dramatic poetry, and would have won a name for himself in literature. For several years he was connected with the India office, and prepared a masterly report on "The Moral and Material Condition of India," for 1881-82. In 1878, he married the accomplished daughter of Frederick Locker. The eldest of their three sons is the "golden-haired Ally" who inspired the well-known verses of his grandfather.

[14] "Queen Mary" was produced at the Lyceum Theatre, London, in April, 1876--Miss Bateman as Mary and Irving as Philip.

[15] "The Cup" was played at the Lyceum in January, 1881--Irving taking the part of Synorix and Miss Terry that of Camma.

[16] "The Falcon" was presented at St. James' Theatre, London, in December, 1879--Mr. Kendal playing the role of Count Federigo and Mrs. Kendal that of Lady Giovanna.

[17] "The Promise of May" was performed at the Globe Theatre, London, (Nov. 11-Dec. 16, 1882), with Mrs. Bernard-Beere as Dora, Miss Emmeline Ormsby as Eva, Mr. Hermann Vezin as Edgar and Mr. Charles Kelly as Dobson.

[18] "The Foresters" was produced at Daly's Theatre, New York, (Mar. 17-April 22, 1892),--Mr. John Drew in the role of Robin Hood and Miss Ada Rehan as Maid Marian.

[19] Walter's _In Tennyson Land_, p. 62.

[20] Appleton's _Cyclopedia_, vol. xv., p. 651.

[21] Johnson's _Cyclopedia_, vol. vii., p. 755.

[22] _Ibid._

[23] J. H. Ward, in _Atlantic Monthly_, Sept., 1879.

[24] _Encyclopedia Americana_, vol. iv., p. 660.

[25] J. A. Graham, in _Art Journal_, Feb., 1891.

[26] Lodge's _Peerage_ (1888), p. 597.

[27] _Art Journal_, Feb., 1891.

[28] _Atlantic Monthly_, Sept., 1879.

[29] A full transcript of the inscription on the rector's tomb is given in Church's _Laureate's Country_ (p. 27), a work that is simply invaluable to students of Tennyson.

"Somersby and Bag Enderby are hamlets about one quarter of a mile apart," says Gatty, "and are held by one Rector, who now resides at the latter place."--_Key to "In Memoriam."_ Preface.

"Not far from the south-eastern extremity of this Wold country is the little village of Somersby. The nearest town to it is Horncastle, which is six miles to the south-east.... Somersby is something less than fifteen miles from the sea."--Church's _Laureate's Country_.

[30] C. J. Caswell, in _Notes and Queries_, March 14, 1891. Van Dyke's _Poetry of Tennyson_, p. 323.

[31] Dawson's _Makers of Modern English_, p. 169.

[32] _The Graphic_, (Chicago), Nov. 14, 1891.

[33] _The Tribune_, (Chicago), March 26, 1892, p. 14.

[34] Jenkins' _Handbook of British and American Literature_, p. 400. Emerson's _Parnassus_, p. xxxiii. Friswell's _Modern Men of Letters_, p. 152. Collier's _History of English Literature_, p. 472. Angus' _Handbook of English Literature_, p. 274. Fogh's _Nordish Con.-Lex._, vol. v., p. 665. Hoefer's _Nouvelle Biog. Gen._, vol. 44. Lorenz _Cat. Lib. Fran._, vol. vi., p. 607. Bleibtreu's _Geschichte Eng. Lit._, p. 364. Fischer's _Ausgewaehlte Gedichte v. A Tennyson_, p. 1. Waldmueller Duboc's _Freundes-Klage_, p. 6. Faccioli's _A. Tennyson--Idilli Liriche_, etc., p. ix.

[35] _Poets and Problems_, p. 73.

I am indebted to Mr. C. J. Caswell for his thorough investigations of Tennyson's boyhood. See _Pall Mall Gazette_, June 19, 1890.

[36] Brockhaus' _Conversations-Lex._, vol. xv., p. 559.

[37] _Lives of English Authors_ (1890), p. 308.

[38] Johnson's _Cyclopedia_, vol. vii., p. 755.

[39] Cook's _Poets and Problems_, p. 73.

[40] Cassell's _Lib. Eng. Lit._, Shorter Poems, p. 465.

[41] Church's _Laureate's Country_, p. 74. Van Dyke's _Poetry of Tennyson_, p. 323.

Frederick Tennyson (a co-heir of the Earls of Scarsdale) was born June 5, 1807. He was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he distinguished himself by writing Greek verse--winning the prize for a Sapphic ode on "Egypt." He married an Italian lady, Maria Guiliotta, now dead, by whom he had two sons--Julius and Alfred,--and three daughters--Elise, Emily, Matilda. For many years he lived at Tenby in South Wales; at present he resides in Jersey, and devotes himself to his favorite Hellenic studies and to poetry.

Charles Tennyson Turner (born July 4, 1808, died April 25, 1879) attended Louth Grammar School (1815-21), and then was fitted for college at home. At Trinity, he did admirable work in the classics--obtaining a Bell scholarship. In 1836, he became vicar of Grasby, where he passed the greater part of his life, well-known for his good works. In 1838, he acquired property left him by his great-uncle, Rev. S. Turner, and assumed the name of Turner by royal license. He married Louisa Sellwood, youngest sister of Lady Tennyson; he died at Cheltenham.

[42] "In 1872, Mr. Tennyson purchased a small estate on the top of Blackdown."

_Laureate's Country_, ch. XVI. On the other hand, _Every Saturday_, for Jan. 1, 1870, says:

"Mr. Tennyson has recently built himself a second residence, in a picturesque valley in Surrey." "In 1867," says Jennings in his _Lord Tennyson_ (p. 190), "it was announced that Tennyson had purchased the Greenhill estate on the borders of Sussex."

This statement is corroborated by a letter of Milnes, dated July 30, 1867:

"Our expedition to Tennyson's was a moral success, but a physical failure.... The bard was very agreeable, and his wife and son delightful. He has built himself a very handsome and commanding home in a most inaccessible site, with every comfort he can require, and every discomfort to all who approach him. What can be more poetical?"

Reid's _Life of Lord Houghton_, Vol. II, p. 176

Here the circumstances point to only one conclusion--that Tennyson was living at Aldworth in the summer of 1867. It is a satisfaction to get down to a solid substratum of truth.

[43]

Johnson's _Cyclopedia_, Vol. VII., p. 755. Appleton's _Cyclopedia_, Vol. XV., p. 652. Meyer's _Kon-Lex._, vol. XV., p. 589. Hart's _Manual of English Literature_, p. 509. Jenkins' _Handbook of British and American Literature_, p. 401.

[44] _London Times_, March 12, 1884. An item in the _Chicago Herald_, April 5, 1892, refers to Tennyson as "Baron d'Eyncourt." Thus he is called in _Lives of English Authors_ (1890). His title is given as "baron Tennyson d'Eyncourt d'Aldworth," by Larousse (_Dictionnaire Universel_, 2d. Supplement, p. 1914); and as "Baron Tennyson von Altworth," by Brockhaus (_Con-Lex._, vol. xv., p. 559), and by Meyer (_Kon-Lex._, vol. xv., p. 589). The _Illustrirtes Kon-Lex._ says he was offered a Baronetcy in 1875. The _International Cyclopedia_ says he was made a baron in 1883, as does Alden's _Cyc. of Univ. Lit._ and other compilations. From this showing it would appear that French and German erudition is about on a par with English and American.

[45] Mrs. Ritchie on "Alfred Tennyson," in _Harper's Magazine_ (Dec., 1883), and Alice Maude Fenn on "The Borderlands of Surrey," in _The Century_ (Aug., 1882).

[46] Of the numerous works of reference which give Somerby as the poet's birthplace, are the following: Vapereau. _Dictionnaire des Contemporains_; Larousse. _Dictionnaire Universel du XIXe Siecle_, 2e. Supplement; Schem. _Conversations-Lexicon_; Meyer. _Conversations-Lexicon._ Brockhaus, etc.

[47] Selections from Tennyson's "Queen Mary."

[48] "The First Quarrel."

End of Project Gutenberg's Tennyson's Life and Poetry, by Eugene Parsons