343 108 2MB
English Pages 440 [357] Year 2018
Praise for earlier volumes in The Complete Letters of Henry James series “Rippling through these letters are the first imaginative stirrings of one of the greatest fiction and travel writers in the language. [James] was also one of the most entertaining—and prolific—correspondents. . . . These are richly enthralling letters.”—Pe t e r K e mp, Sunday Times (London) “ This latest volume of the Complete Letters represents, no less than its forebears, an inestimable contribution to readers hitherto obliged to hunt down James’s letters in various selections or scattered archives, and deserves to be greeted with the same jubilant chorus of praise and gratitude.”—A lic i a R i x , Times Literary Supplement “ This edition is not just notable for its astonishing ambition, however; even at this early stage, it must also be reckoned a signal achievement. By every measure, the volumes we have so far are simply outstanding in every major respect. . . . The result is an embarrassment of critical and biographical riches.” —Bruc e B aw er , New Criterion “ The textual editing of the letters is fantastically thorough, every blot, deletion, insertion, and misspelling being lucidly presented in the text itself and further described in endnotes to each letter; for the reader this evokes the dash and spontaneity of James’s pen, and for the scholar it clarifies every possible ambiguity caused by that dash. . . . The letters themselves are so vivid, funny, and revealing that [the edition] is already indispensable.”—A lan H o l l i nghu rs t , Guardian “ The general public has been deprived of James’s full epistolary record until now. . . . All the more reason to celebrate the present volumes, handsomely produced and extensively and intelligently annotated.”—Pet er B ro o k s, Bookforum “For a snapshot of nineteenth-century Europe—and a sampling of a great novelist’s young mind—there is perhaps nothing better than the latest, meticulously edited volume of The Complete Letters of Henry James [series].”—A lex a n der Th erou x , Wall Street Journal
“ These extraordinary, profoundly welcome volumes are the first fruits of an epic undertaking by two heroic American scholars, Pierre Walker and Greg Zacharias. . . . These early volumes give a wonderfully pleasurable picture of a writer at the beginning of his journey, enduring setbacks and barren spells, but already showing the impressive resilience, wisdom, and wit that were the foundations of his astonishing career.”—Ph i lip H orn e , Daily Telegraph “Like earlier releases in the ambitious Complete Letters of Henry James series, this richly rewarding compilation is well annotated and scrupulously edited.”—J . J . Ben a r de t e , Choice “ The volumes are beautiful, solidly put together, with big type, wide margins, and copious annotations.”—Ed m u n d V. Whit e , New York Review of Books
The Complete Letters of Henry James
1883–1884 Volume 2
HJ
The Complete Letters of Henry James general editors Michael Anesko, The Pennsylvania State University; Greg W. Zacharias, Creighton University (Project Director) general editor emeritus Pierre A. Walker, Salem State University associate editor Katie Sommer, Creighton University translation editor Thomas F. Coffey editorial assistants Andrea Antidormi, Danielle Carder, Laurena Clemente, Kyle Dunn, Jennifer Eimers, Caitlyn Ewers, Josi Freire, Krysta Larson, Tyler Nelson, Roz Parr, Natalie Roxburgh, Fernanda Sandoval, Nathaniel Windon editorial board Susan Gunter, Westminster College (Salt Lake City); Steven Jobe, Hanover College (Indiana); George Monteiro, Brown University; Rosella Mamoli Zorzi, Università Ca’ Foscari di Venezia advisory group Daniel Mark Fogel, University of Vermont; Robert Gale, University of Pittsburgh; Richard Hocks, University of Missouri–Columbia; Philip Horne, University College London; Bay James, Newbury, Massachusetts; Henry James, Dublin, New Hampshire; Fred Kaplan, City University of New York; David McWhirter, Texas A&M University; Lyall H. Powers, University of Michigan; Roberta A. Sheehan, Quincy, Massachusetts; Cheryl Torsney, Middle Tennessee State University; Ruth Bernard Yeazell, Yale University
The Complete Letters of Henry James, 1883–1884 Volume 2
Henry James Edited by Michael Anesko and Greg W. Zacharias Katie Sommer, Associate Editor
University of Nebraska Press
Lincoln
© 2019 by the University of Nebraska Press All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. Set in Janson Text by Tseng Information Systems, Inc. Book designer R. Eckersley. ♾ Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: James, Henry, 1843–1916, author. | Anesko, Michael, editor. | Zacharias, Greg W., 1958– editor. | Sommer, Katie, editor. | Lawrence, Kathy (Academic), writer of introduction. Title: The complete letters of Henry James, 1883–1884 / Henry James; edited by Michael Anesko and Greg W. Zacharias, Katie Sommer, associate editor; with an introduction by Kathy Lawrence. Description: Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2018– | Includes bibliographical references and index. Contents: volume 1— Identifiers: LCCN 2017048535 | ISBN 9781496206435 (v. 1: hardcover: alk. paper) | ISBN 9781496207425 (web) | ISBN 9781496215109 (v. 2: hardcover: alk. paper) | ISBN 9781496216250 (web) Subjects: LCSH: James, Henry, 1843–1916— Correspondence. | Authors, American—19th century—Correspondence. | Authors, American— 20th century—Correspondence. Classification: LCC PS2123 .A4 2018 | DDC 826/.8 [B]—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017048535
To Denis Donoghue, former Henry James Professor of English and American Letters, New York University.
Contents
The Complete Letters of Henry James, 1883–1884, volume 2, contains 125 letters, of which 72 are published for the first time. Each letter is followed by previous publication information or a note that there is no previous publication.
Acknowledgmentsxiii Symbols and Abbreviations
xvii
Chronologyxix Errataxxv
1884 January 29
To James Ripley Osgood
3
January 30
To Mary Morton Hartpence Sands
5
February 1
To Richard Watson Gilder
7
February 5
To Alice James
9
February 5
To Emma Lazarus
13
February 7
To Thomas Bailey Aldrich
15
February 7
To Edmund Gosse
17
February 7
To Houghton, Mifflin and Company
18
February 7
To Benjamin Holt Ticknor
19
[February 9]
To Theodore E. Child
20
February 13
To Thomas Bailey Aldrich
21
February 20
To William James
25
February 21
To William Dean Howells
28
February 21
To Mary Augusta Arnold Ward
32
February 22
To Edwin Lawrence Godkin
34
[February] 22; misdated January
To John Addington Symonds
38
February 23
To Grace Norton
41
February 26
To Henrietta Reubell
45
February 29
To Alice James
47
February 29
To Theodore E. Child
50
March 3
To William James
52
March 6
To Thomas Sergeant Perry
54
March 8
To Theodore E. Child
57
March 9
To Florence Wilkinson Mathews
60
March 9
To Mary Morton Hartpence Sands
61
March 10
To Benjamin Holt Ticknor
63
March 14
To Edwin Austin Abbey and Alfred Parsons
64
March 18
To George Du Maurier
65
March 19
To Thomas Bailey Aldrich
66
March 19
To Theodore E. Child
68
March 21
To Charles Scribner’s Sons
70
March 22
To William James
71
March 26
To William James
74
March [29]; misdated 20
To Alice James
76
March 29
To Sir Charles Archer Cook
80
March 29, 31
To Grace Norton
81
April 5
To Jane Dalzell Finlay Hill
86
April 14
To Archibald Philip Primrose, Lord Rosebery
87
April 16
To Thomas Bailey Aldrich
90
April 16
To Lawrence Barrett
92
April 16
To Charles Scribner’s Sons
93
April 16
To Mary and Louisa Lawrence
94
April 16
To Benjamin Holt Ticknor
95
April 21
To William James
97
April 21
To Louisa Lawrence
100
April 21
To J. Cotter Morison
101
May 2
To Katharine de Kay Bronson
102
May 2
To Isabella Stewart Gardner
103
May 3
To Alice James
105
May 4
To Lady Elizabeth Eberstadt Lewis
109
May 6, 7
To Grace Norton
110
May 7
To James Bryce
117
May 7
To John Milton Hay
118
May 12
To Eveleen Tennant Myers
119
May 13
To Edmund Gosse
120
May 15
To Houghton, Mifflin and Company
120
May 16
To Eveleen Tennant Myers
121
May 20
To Eleanor Mary Sellar
122
May 22
To Thomas Sergeant Perry
123
May 23
To Alice Howe Gibbens James
124
May 23
To Benjamin Holt Ticknor
128
May 26
To William James
130
May 28
To James Russell Lowell
133
[June 2]
To Elizabeth Boott
134
June 3
To Charles Eliot Norton
141
June 5
To Edmund Gosse
142
June 5
To John Milton Hay
143
June 6
To James Payn
144
June 9
To Edmund Gosse
145
June 10
To Lady Louisa Erskine Wolseley
146
June 12
To George Washburn Smalley
147
June 17
To Edwin Lawrence Godkin
148
June 17
To Benjamin Holt Ticknor
150
June 19
To Alphonse Daudet
151
June 19
To George Du Maurier
155
June 21
To Isabella Stewart Gardner
156
June 24
To Edmund Gosse
158
June 25
To Sir William Henry Gregory
160
July 1
To Charles Eliot Norton
161
July 3
To William Jones Hoppin
163
July 5
To Jessie Percy Butler Duncan Phipps
163
July 5
To Benjamin Holt Ticknor
164
July 12
To Edwin Austin Abbey
165
July 14
To Sir Edward Bruce Hamley
165
July 14
To Thomas Wemyss Reid
167
July 15
To Lady Elizabeth Eberstadt Lewis
168
[July 16 or 23]
To Isabella Stewart Gardner
169
July 18
To Lawrence Barrett
170
July 18
To Edmund Gosse
173
July 24
To Lady Louisa Erskine Wolseley
174
July 26
To Lady Louisa Erskine Wolseley
175
July 31
To Edgar Fawcett
177
July 31
To Richard Watson Gilder
179
July 31
To William Dean Howells
181
July 31
To Violet Paget
184
July 31
To Olivia Brown Walsh
185
August 1
To Francis Boott
188
August 2
To Grace Norton
190
August 5
To Sir
196
August 15
To James Ripley Osgood
197
August 21
To Elizabeth Mary Rose-Innes Santley
198
August 21
To Lady Louisa Erskine Wolseley
199
August 26
To Frederick Macmillan
202
September 3
To Lady Louisa Erskine Wolseley
204
September 4
To Edmund Gosse
206
September 15
To Madam
208
September 16
To George Du Maurier
208
September 16
To Henrietta Reubell
211
September 16
To Lady Louisa Erskine Wolseley
213
September 18
To Edmund Gosse
216
September 26
To Thomas Sergeant Perry
217
September 26
To Archibald Philip Primrose, Lord Rosebery
221
[September 26 to November 14]
To Lady Louisa Erskine Wolseley
223
September 28
To Benjamin Holt Ticknor
224
October 2, 5
To Katharine Sands Godkin
227
October 2
To Marcus Bourne Huish
233
October 2
To Louisa Putnam Loring
234
October 5
To William James
236
October 9
To James Russell Lowell
239
October 21
To Violet Paget
240
October 31
To William James
243
November 1
To Henrietta Reubell
248
November 3
To Grace Norton
252
November 6
To Lady Louisa Erskine Wolseley
259
November 9
To Benjamin Holt Ticknor
261
Biographical Register
263
General Editors’ Note
279
Works Cited
293
Index307
Acknowledgments
The Center for Henry James Studies at Creighton University, grants from the Gilbert C. Swanson Foundation, Inc., the College of the Liberal Arts and Department of English, Pennsylvania State University, a Fellowship for College Teachers and Independent Scholars from the National Endowment for the Humanities, a Sabbatical Fellowship from the American Philosophical Society, Mellon Fellowships to the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin, a fellowship from the Bibliographical Society of America, and a Lester J. Cappon Fellowship in Documentary Editing to the Newberry Library in Chicago contributed to this volume. Particular recognition must go to Pierre A. Walker, general editor emeritus, whose work will appear in one way or another in most of the volumes in this edition. Many other individual contributions of time and money have contributed to making this volume possible. Joseph Biancalana continues his unprecedented support of the edition. We are most grateful to him. In addition to the general editors, associate editor, editorial assistants, editorial board, and advisory group of The Complete Letters of Henry James, many individuals have contributed to this volume and to this edition. Sarah Wadsworth conducted the volume’s review for the MLA’s Committee on Scholarly Editions. For all this we are most grateful. Nathaniel Windon, Danielle Carder, Laurena Clemente, and Kyle Dunn at the Pennsylvania State University were instrumental in establishing the letter texts. Very special thanks to Susan Halpert, Peter Accardo, James Capobianco, Ramon Cartwright, Kate Donovan, Mary Haegert, Emilie Hardman, Micah Hoggatt, Emily Walhout, and Joseph Zajac of the Houghton Library, Harvard University, for their excellent assistance and encouragement. We wish to thank especially Susan Halpert, whose retirement from the Houghton Library staff following a xiii
Acknowledgments
distinguished career of expert guidance and service to us, many other James scholars, and so many others should be acknowledged and celebrated. We are grateful for the special and ongoing assistance of Patricia Burdick, Maggie Libby, and Erin Rhodes, Special Collections, Colby College, Waterville, Maine. Thanks are in order as well to Richard Virr, acting head and curator of manuscripts, McGill University Library. Sabrina Beauchard of the Massachusetts Historical Society and Sara A. Borden of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania helped with timely assistance. Thanks to Joanne Simmons and the staff of the Brighton and Hove City Libraries for their assistance with Henry James letters at the Hove Library. David Thompson of the Tate Britain was especially helpful with Henry James letters at the Tate. Thanks to Richard Watson, head of Reference and Research Services, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin. Anne P. Causey at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collection, University of Virginia, helped us when we needed it most. Thanks also to the Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, for help securing access to Henry James letters there. We are always grateful to Steven H. Jobe and Susan E. Gunter for their Calendar of the Letters of Henry James and a Biographical Register of Henry James’s Correspondents, available online at https://apex.creighton.edu /pls/apex/f?p=532:4, which helps us and so many others interested in James’s letters. Creighton University has been generous in its support of the letters project and the Center for Henry James Studies. Special thanks go to Rev. Daniel Hendrickson, SJ, president, and to Thomas F. Murray, provost, Dawn Wilson of the provost’s office, Tina Jones of the Creighton business office, and Bridget Keegan, dean of the Arts College. In addition, Gail Jensen, dean of the Graduate School, and colleagues Gregory S. Bucher, Christina Clark, Robert Dornsife, and Jill Dickey, each in his or her own way, have been generous in support of The Complete Letters of Henry James. Caitlyn Ewers, Natalie Gorup, Tara Knapp, Julie Kraft, Michelle McGauvran, Roz Parr, Patrick Phillips, Natalie Roxburgh, Doug Dolan, and Susanne Stahl provided important support for the project in the Center for Henry James Studies. The University of Nebraska Press continues an unprecedented xiv
Acknowledgments
commitment to The Complete Letters of Henry James. Our thanks go to those at the press with whom we have worked and continue to work. Richard Eckersley, who designed the pages for this edition and whose career as a book designer was long and remarkable, passed away just before the publication of volume 1 of The Complete Letters of Henry James, 1855–1872. We are privileged to have been able to work with a person of such skill, thoughtfulness, knowledge, experience, and kindness. We remember him through the beauty and elegance of this edition’s design. Our deepest thanks go to Bay James, on behalf of the James family, and to Leslie A. Morris, Gore Vidal Curator of Modern Books and Manuscripts, in the Houghton Library, Harvard University, on behalf of the president and fellows of Harvard College, for permission to publish those letters still under copyright.
xv
Symbols and Abbreviations
symbols used in the edited letters indicates the presence of an envelope with the original letter. represents an illegible character. ▬ represents the cancellation to a sequence of letters, probably a word. at the end of a phrase indicates the end of material inserted interlineally; at the beginning of a phrase it indicates the beginning of material inserted interlineally when James did not write a caret. is HJ’s sign for an ampersand. REPRESENTS PRINTED LETTERHEAD family name abbreviations AHGJ AJ AK GW J HJ MW J RJ Sr. W J
Alice Howe Gibbens James Alice James Catharine Walsh (Aunt Kate) Garth Wilkinson James (Wilky, Wilkie) Henry James Mary Walsh James Robertson James (Rob, Robby, Robbie, Bob) Henry James Sr. William James
copy-t ext form abbreviations used AL Autograph letter, not signed ALC Autograph letter, copy ALS Autograph letter, signed Copy-text Specifies the previously published complete or partial letter source Mf Microfilm of manuscript MS Photocopy Photocopy of lost manuscript TLC Typed letter copy of lost manuscript
xvii
Chronology
29 January–9 November 1884: England, France 1884
29 January: HJ writes to James Ripley Osgood, asking for the opportunity to publish “two or three other short stories” (29 January 1884, p. 3) before completing The Bostonians. 31 January: HJ’s nephew Herman James, third son and third child of WJ and AHGJ, is born. Late January: HJ socializes often, seeing, in particular, John Singer Sargent and Constance Fenimore Woolson while in London. February: Katharine Peabody Loring, AJ’s close friend and companion, travels to Europe with her ill sister, Louisa. 1 February: HJ agrees with Richard Watson Gilder’s proposal to publish “Lady Barberina” in three installments instead of two and also suggests that Gilder will need to publish “A New England Winter” in two installments instead of one. 2 February: HJ travels to Paris, staying at the Hôtel de Hollande on the rue de la Paix. 4 February: HJ visits Mrs. Lombard, who is ill. 5 February: HJ writes to Caroline “Carrie” James, widow of GWJ, and sends her money. He also sends Benjamin Holt Ticknor a typed copy of “A New England Winter.” 6 February: At the invitation of Edmond de Goncourt, HJ visits him in Auteuil. 12 February: HJ socializes at the home of Alphonse Daudet; also present are Émile Zola, Edmond de Goncourt, and Theodore E. Child. 13 February: Writing to Thomas Bailey Aldrich, HJ agrees to begin a serial that would become The Princess Casamassima in 1885. HJ asks for twelve installments and $500 per installment. 21 February: HJ dines with Auguste Laugel. 22 February: HJ visits Marie Ouroussoff at her Paris salon. 24 February: HJ breakfasts with Blanche de Triqueti and Edward Lee Childe. 27 February: HJ returns to London.
xix
Chronology
28 February: HJ attends Tommaso Salvini’s debut in Othello at the Covent Garden Theatre. Early March: Some of HJ’s worries about two siblings are relieved when AJ travels to New York City to try a new cure with Dr. William B. Neftel and RJ takes a position as a curator at an art museum in Milwaukee. 1 March: HJ plans to visit George Henschel. 3 March: The redivision of Sr.’s estate is, for the most part, settled, as HJ sends signed deeds back to WJ. 7 March: HJ attends a performance by Tommaso Salvini as Corrado in Paolo Giacometti’s La morte civile at the Covent Garden Theatre in London. 10 March: Writing to Benjamin Holt Ticknor, HJ suggests Tales of Three Cities for the title of his upcoming collection of three stories. Mid-March: The seventh installment of En Province is published in the Atlantic Monthly. 20 March: HJ sends Charles Scribner’s Sons the copy for his 1869 story “A Light Man,” which Scribner’s will include in Stories by American Authors. 23 March: George Du Maurier paints a small portrait of HJ. HJ lunches with Louis Pasteur. 27 March: “A Study of Salvini” is published in the Pall Mall Gazette. 28 March: “A Study of Salvini” is published in the Pall Mall Budget. HJ dines with novelist and Cornhill Magazine editor James Payn. 29 March: HJ and John Singer Sargent visit the exhibition of Sir Joshua Reynolds at the National Gallery; they dine together later that night. 30 March: HJ and John Singer Sargent lunch together and then see the studios of several artists, including those of John Everett Millais and Frederic Leighton. Later that night, HJ hosts a dinner for Sargent at the Reform Club. Among his guests there is Edward Burne-Jones. Early April: WJ’s “What Is an Emotion?” is published in the journal Mind. Later in the month, HJ points WJ to a review of the article. 3 April: HJ dines with Edwin A. Abbey and Alfred Parsons at the Hotel Continental on Regent Street. 14 April: HJ travels to The Durdans, an estate of Lord and
xx
Chronology
Lady Rosebery at Epsom. Also present are William, Catherine, and either Mary or Helen Gladstone; Sir Andrew Clark; Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville; and George Granville Leveson-Gower. Mid-April: The first installment of “Lady Barberina” is published in the Century Magazine. The eighth and final installment of En Province is published in the Atlantic Monthly. 16 April: HJ returns to 3 Bolton Street. He also sends Charles Scribner’s Sons a revision of “A Light Man.” 22 April: HJ lunches with Louisa Elizabeth Lawrence. 29 April: HJ dines with Mary Augusta Arnold Ward; also present are Edmond Schérer and Matthew Arnold. Early May: AJ returns to Boston from New York City, hopeful, as HJ writes to her, that she has “the happy consciousness of having proved in a hundred ways that [she is] better” (p. 106). HJ dines with Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster, and William Montague, 7th Duke of Manchester. RJ leaves his job as curator of an art museum in Milwaukee; HJ offers to assist temporarily with RJ’s family’s finances. 2 May: HJ writes a letter of introduction for Isabella Stewart Gardner to Katharine de Kay Bronson. He dines with Archibald Philip Primrose, Lord Rosebery. 3 May: HJ dines with John Hay and Clarence King. 4 May: HJ dines with Lawrence and Mollie Barrett. 7 May: Lt. Col. Herbert Alexander St. John Mildmay marries Susan Margaret Stackpole Motley in London, and HJ attends the wedding. 9 May: HJ dines with John Hay at the Athenæum. He later attends a party at the home of James Bryce in Bryanston Square. 14 May: At the invitation of J. Cotter Morison, HJ dines at the Savile Club. Mid-May: The second installment of “Lady Barberina” is published in the Century Magazine. 18 May: HJ visits Edmund Gosse. 23 May: HJ sends corrected proof pages of A Little Tour in France to Benjamin Holt Ticknor. 24 May: Sailing on the Cephalonia, Charles Eliot Norton departs Boston for England. 25 May: HJ dines with Katharine Louisa Cullen and George Henry Boughton.
xxi
Chronology
27 May: HJ dines with Mary Arabella Arthur Gascoyne-Cecil, Lady Galloway, and Catherine Lucy Wilhelmina Powlett, Duchess of Cleveland. 31 May: HJ visits Charles Napier and Catherine Lawrence. Early June: The first installment of “The Author of ‘Bel‑ traffio’” is published in the English Illustrated Magazine. 1 June: The first part of “Pandora” is published in the New York Sun. 3 June: Charles Eliot Norton arrives in London. HJ welcomes him and invites Norton to 3 Bolton Street. 8 June: HJ meets with John Hay at breakfast. The second part of “Pandora” is published in the New York Sun. 14 June: HJ’s friend and editor, Edwin Lawrence Godkin, marries Katherine Sands in New York City. Mid-June: The final installment of “Lady Barberina” is published in the Century Magazine. 23 June: HJ’s Notes (No. 15 of a Series) by Mr. Henry James on a Collection of Drawings by Mr. George du Maurier is published. 30 June: HJ picnics at the Chenies Manor House, the estate of Francis Charles Hastings Russell, 9th Duke of Bedford, and Lady Elizabeth Sackville-West Russell. That evening, he takes Constance Fenimore Woolson to the Gaiety Theatre to see Sarah Bernhardt in Fédora. Early July: The second installment of “The Author of ‘Beltraffio’” is published in the English Illustrated Magazine. 12 July: HJ visits William Jones Hoppin and James Russell Lowell. Mid-July: The first installment of “A New England Winter” is published in the Century Magazine. HJ sees Isabella Stewart Gardner on either 16 or 23 July. 19 July: HJ dines with Joseph Chamberlain. 20 July: At the invitation of Lady Elizabeth Eberstadt Lewis, HJ travels to her home at Walton-on-Thames. The first installment of “Georgina’s Reasons” is published in the New York Sun. 21 July: HJ leaves Walton-on-Thames and returns to 3 Bolton Street. He later dines with Edmund Gosse, John Singer Sargent, and Paul Bourget. 27 July: The second part of “Georgina’s Reasons” is published in the New York Sun.
xxii
Chronology
30 July: HJ returns to 3 Bolton Street after a brief holiday in the country. 31 July: James Ripley Osgood visits HJ. HJ writes to Richard Watson Gilder to schedule the publication timeline for The Bostonians. HJ also writes to Violet Paget, agreeing to her offer to dedicate Miss Brown to him. 1 August: HJ visits Ariana Randolph Wormeley and Daniel Sargent Curtis. 3 August: The New York Sun publishes the third part of “Georgina’s Reasons.” 4 August: HJ leaves London and travels to Dover for an extended stay, where he works on The Bostonians during a very quiet August and September. 6 August: HJ visits Waddesdon Manor, a Rothschild estate in Buckinghampshire. 9 August: With Lord and Lady Wolseley, HJ visits Pandeli Ralli at his estate in Surrey, Alderbrook Park. 11 August: HJ returns from Alderbrook Park. Mid-August: The second installment of “A New England Winter” is published in the Century Magazine. 16 August: Traveling to Southampton, HJ first stops in London. 18 August: HJ returns from Southampton, is briefly in London, and then travels to Dover. September: For the majority of the month, HJ writes The Bostonians in Dover. AJ continues thinking in earnest of moving to England and being nearer to HJ. WJ is ill with what HJ calls a “mysterious fever” (p. 236). RJ leaves his position in Milwaukee and moves to Boston to live temporarily with WJ and AHGJ. Early September: Longman’s Magazine publishes “The Art of Fiction.” 5 September: A Little Tour in France is published by James R. Osgood and Company. 15 September: HJ visits Margate. 20 September: Katharine Peabody Loring returns from Europe; she and AJ make plans to sail to Liverpool, England, where HJ will meet them. 25 September: His work in Dover concluded, HJ returns to London.
xxiii
Chronology
17 October: Tales of Three Cities is published by J. R. Osgood and Company. 31 October: HJ dines with Sir Frederick and Georgina Harriet Deffell Pollock. Also present are J. Croom Robertson and Letitia Hill Deffell. November: The Art of Fiction is published, unauthorized, in Boston by Cupples, Upham and Company. 1 November: AJ and Katharine Peabody Loring sail on the Pavonia from Boston to Liverpool. 2 November: HJ spends the day at Merton College, Oxford, with George Brodrick. Also present are John Bright, Lady Sarah Spencer, Charles Savile Roundell, and Julia Anne Elizabeth Tollemache Roundell. 10 November: HJ goes to Liverpool to meet AJ and Katharine Peabody Loring. 11 November: AJ and Katharine Peabody Loring arrive in Liverpool, where HJ greets them.
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Errata
Errata from The Complete Letters of Henry James, 1855–1872 1: 250n248.16–17 Broderick should read Brodrick. Errata from The Complete Letters of Henry James, 1872–1876 2: 80–81 Jessie Taylor Laussot (1829–1905) should read (1826–1905). 2: 250 Laussot, Jessie Taylor (1829–1905) should read (1826–1905). Errata from The Complete Letters of Henry James, 1878–1880 2: 203 Hillebrand, Jessie Taylor Laussot (1829–1905) should read (1826–1905). Errata from The Complete Letters of Henry James, 1880–1883 1: 288 James, Helen (1841–97), HJ’s cousin and daughter of Sr.’s half-brother Robert James (1787–1821). should read James, Helen (1841–97), HJ’s distant cousin and granddaughter of Sr.’s half-brother Robert James (1787–1821). 1: 331 James, Helen (cousin), 5, 288 should read Perkins, Helen Rodgers Wyckoff (cousin), 5, 288. Errata from The Complete Letters of Henry James, 1883–1884 1: 6n5.21 departing on 9 April should read departing on 15 January. 1: 7n6.24 departing on 9 April should read departing on 15 January.
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The Complete Letters of Henry James
1883–1884 Volume 2
HJ
1884
1884
james ripley osgood 29 January 1884 ALS Duke University, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library 5
3 Bolton St. Piccadilly Jan. 29th 1884. Dear Mr. Osgood. I have received from Mr. Gillig a cheque for £202, in payment for Lady Barb., for which many thanks. The third of my contracted-for tales is in the hands of a type- writer, who is copying it, as soon as the copy comes in, I will despatch it to you. It is called “A New-England Winter.” I have something on my mind which I must speak of without more delay. There is a clause in our agreement to the effect that I am not to write any other work of imagination until I shall have finished the four stories of which the agreement treats. Now that I have written three of these, I am obliged to ask you to release me from the operation of the clause to the extent of enabling me to write, dispose of, two or three other short stories, before hurrying forward with my novel. My reason for this request is simply—want of money. I have not enough ready money to carry me through the time it will take me to complete my novel—as I shall not be paid for it, of course, till it is completed. I would undertake to deliver it to you in instalments, to be paid for successively, which would serve my purpose as well; but this would you very possibly would not care for, I think it best not to waste time in waiting for an answer on that point. My necessity has accidentally arisen; I did not foresee it—on the contrary—f when we made our agreement. I see the Century does not advertise my novel for the present year—therefore I suppose that it is not in a particular hurry for the MS. I do not mean to d by this that I propose to put off the production of it; on the contrary 3
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I shall go on with it rapidly deliver it promptly, as soon as I have had time to produce a couple of short tales (of 12000 words each) for which I have had a handsome offer, which will enable to live while I work! These things I shall of course also look to you to republish—so my request is not injurious to you.— Will you please give orders that a copy of the Daisy M. Comedy, a copy of the Siege of London be sent me by bookpost? Very faithfully yours Henry James No previous publication
3.11–12 type- | writer • type-writer
3.16 until • [i inserted]
4.2 • [blotted out]
4.3 , • [, overwrites .]
3.1 James Ripley Osgood • Osgood (1836–92) was the publisher of HJ’s first book and fifteen other titles through James’s career.
3.9 Mr. Gillig • Probably Henry F. Gillig (c. 1854–1917), founder and
owner of Henry F. Gillig & Co., known as “Gillig’s American Exchange,” 449 Strand, London. Gillig’s served American businessmen and tourists as a bank, place for mail delivery, resort, and meeting place, and it offered tourist services. 3.10 Lady Barb. • “Lady Barberina.”
3.11 The third of my contracted-for tales • HJ contracted for the pub-
lication of two tales with Osgood in addition to “Lady Barberina”: “Impressions of a Cousin” and “A New England Winter.” All three were published by Osgood in Tales of Three Cities.
3.15 our agreement • See HJ to Osgood, 8 April [1883] (CLHJ
1883–1884 1: 81–85) and Anesko, “Friction” (following p. 83).
3.17 four stories • The Bostonians, in addition to the three stories,
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1884 already probably finished, to be included in Tales of Three Cities. HJ’s agreement with Osgood allowed the publisher to sell the serial rights to the four to the Century Magazine.
4.2 a couple of short tales • Probably “Pandora” and “Georgina’s Rea-
sons.” HJ wrote to WJ that Charles A. Dana had asked HJ for two stories to be published in the New York Sun, for which HJ would be paid $4,000 per story (10 October [1883], CLHJ, 1883–1884 1: 237–38, 239n237.26). Anesko (“Friction” 189) and Ballou (618n30) judge that HJ exaggerated Dana’s fee.
mary morton hartpence sands 30 January [1884] ALS Tate 9125.6.8 (229)
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3 Bolton St. Mayfair Jan. 30th ———— Dear Mrs. Sands. Don’t think me a brute of brutes, but let me explain a little. I found your last kind note (of Saturday a.m,) on coming into my apartments at midnight of that day—having been a absent for many y hours previous. It contained a gracious invitation to come in (in George St.) at 5.30 of that afternoon, intimated that such an interview would be a farewell. 5.30 was already in the dim distance, so that all that was open to me was to curse my adverse fate go to sleep on the vision of catching, as it were, the hem of your garment on the morrow, Sunday afternoon, in spite of two distinct horrid engagements at opposite ends of this interminable town. The engagements proved to be absolutely bottomless gulfs, in which I sank up to my neck, wriggling out only at seven o’clock, in time to t hurry home change my tattered garments my company. 5
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Monday brought with it a beastly attack of influenza neuralgia, by which I have been immured ever since, which has made me sullen savage at the sight of pen paper, has been aggravated by the conviction that you must already have left town, with vague unflattering ideas on the subject of my manners. They are better than you w might suppose, when they really have a chance. This is an attempt to prove it—though the chance is not of the best. The real one will occur when you next come to town,—if I have by that time come back from Paris, whither I definitely go on Saturday. Excuse all this autog autobiography—as if in the social empyrean in which you dwell, you could remember, five minutes after they flit through your festive existence, the apologies, the shortcomings, the humble pretensions or even the profound admiration, of yours ever faithfully Henry James. P.S. I answered Mrs. Chaplin’s kind little note, which you enclosed.—I have directed an entertaining—a really very interesting, book to be sent to you—La Societé de Berlin, which is making such a chiasso chatter in that place. I hope you haven’t already seen it— am emboldened by your inquiry about new French things the other day.— No previous publication
5.24 a absent • [bs overwrites illegible letters] 5.24 y hours • [h overwrites y] 5.33–34 t hurry • [h overwrites t]
6.1 neuralgia • neur- | algia
6.2 • [ overwrites ,]
6.3 at • [a overwrites illegible letter] 6.6 w might • [m overwrites w]
5.12 mary morton hartpence sands • An American socialite, Sands (1853–96) met HJ in 1880.
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5.25 George St. • Mahlon and Mary Morton Hartpence Sands lived at
25 George Street, Hanover Square, London.
6.16 Mrs. Chaplin’s • Likely Delene Lucy Morton Chaplin (1854–
1924), an American and distant relative of Mary Sands. She married London merchant Ernest Chaplin in 1874. 6.18 La Societé de Berlin • Paul Vasili’s La société de Berlin: Augmenté de lettres inédites. 6.19 chiasso • noise.
richard watson gilder 1 February [1884] ALS Indiana University, Lilly Library, Manuscript Collections Gilder MSS, 1781–1984, box 1, series 1: correspondence, box 11 15
3 Bolton St W. Feb. 1st ———— My dear Gilder. I am very glad you like Lady B.; your expression of the fact gives me pleasure. I am sorry you are to publish it as three; the interest is not calculated for that. This, however, reassures me a little in one way, as the process of writing a very short story becomes constantly more difficult to me. As one grows older, sees learns more, it becomes harder to squeeze this enlarged matter into brevity of form, I find I must take elbow-room. I say this partly to prepare you for the fact that if you are to print Lady B. as three you will probably print my third tale, which (now being copied by a type-writer,) is on the point of going to you, as two. If you are obliged to do this I hope that you will not mind rage at my betrayals—for I promised to make this no. 3 proper for being printed at once entire. It is called “A New England Winter,” it is all about Boston; where it probably (though most lacteal in its satire) won’t be liked. I shall add in a p.s. two or three corrections, for Lady B. one 7
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of which you yourself ask about.—I go to Paris tomorrow for ten days; otherwise I am having a very quiet London winter. The Century flourishes here hugely, the Breadwinners (which I have received but not yet read—I mean to) are is spoken of with London assurance as J. Hay’s. Mrs. Procter is younger than ever, H. Aidé more of a patron of everything everyone; Literature rather low. My 24 hours at Marion look iridescent exotic out of this time place. Bien des choses to your wife— from yours faithfully ever H. James Previous publication: HJL 3: 23–24
7.19 expression • ex- | pression
7.23 difficult • diffi- | cult
8.1 tomorrow • tom- | orrow
8.8 • [blotted out]
7.11 richard watson gilder • Gilder (1844–1909) was assistant editor of Scribner’s Monthly (1870–81) and briefly its editor in 1881 following the death of Josiah Holland and before Scribner’s was renamed the Century Magazine. Gilder then served as editor of the Century from 1881 until his death in 1909. In addition to his editorial work, Gilder was an author and poet. Gilder’s wife, Helena de Kay Gilder (1846–1916), was a friend of HJ from childhood. The Gilders had two surviving children in 1884, Rodman (1877–1953) and Dorothea (1882–1920). 7.19 Lady B. • “Lady Barberina.”
7.20 publish it as three • “Lady Barberina” appeared in the Century in
May, June, and July 1884.
7.32 “A New England Winter” • The story appeared in the August and
September 1884 issues of the Century Magazine. 8.3 Breadwinners • John Hay’s anonymously published novel was serialized in the Century from August 1883 to January 1884.
8.5 J. Hay’s • Author and statesman John Milton Hay (1838–1905).
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8.5 Mrs. Procter • Anne Benson Skepper Procter (1799–1888), wife of
poet Bryan Waller Procter (pen name Barry Cornwall).
8.6 H. Aidé • Charles Hamilton Aïdé (1826–1906) was a soldier, novel
ist, poet, dramatist, and socialite whose London gatherings HJ often attended.
8.7 Marion • The Gilders had a summer home in Marion, Massachu-
setts, near Cape Cod, that would inspire the setting for Marmion in the latter chapters of The Bostonians.
8.8 Bien des choses • Best wishes.
alice james 5 February [1884] ALS Houghton bMS Am 1094 (1602)
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Paris Feb. 5th Hotel de Hollande Rue de la Paix ———— Dearest Sister. As usual, I take up my pen with the feeling that I have neglected you. At any rate, since I last wrote, I have from you a very good long letter of Jan. 15th. It gave me a better impression of you—I don’t mean intellectually, for that impression, of course, could gain nothing, or even morally—than I have had in some time. This will reach you about in the midst of the throes of your separation from Katherine, my desire is that it may in some slight degree help you to support them. Such changes are never what we fear—they always bring with them compensations, revelations of ability, I have no doubt that you will speedily become your own Katherine, or perhaps even the Katherine of another! At any rate, the change will greatly stimulate you—excuse my didactic tone.—I crossed to Paris 9
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three days ago—in pursuance of a plan I had nourished all winter, perhaps probably shall be here about three weeks. Paris is the same old Paris; cold, bright, but looking empty and unprosperous. I have however a big pleasant room, looking out on the Rue de la Paix, I find it an agreeable change from Bolton. I have seen several of my little set of friends probably presently shall see others. I saw yesterday Mrs. Lombard, very ill in bed, looking as white as death, coiffée as if for a ball at court, or a coronation. She strikes me as really deathly— but don’t repeat a word of this, as it will alarm her children in Boston. She had been remarkably well till a m couple months ago, this is a complete dégringolade. She may however recover, as she has recovered from so much. Meanwhile I am very sorry for poor Fanny, who is weak, anxious unfit for responsibility. But they have very good friends. I didn’t mean, however, to devote my letter to the Lombards. I miss Turgenieff immensely— perceive now that in all these last years he seeing him has been the most interesting thing for me in Paris. I shall see Daudet, however—qui ne le vaut pas— tomorrow I go out to Auteuil to see Edmond de Goncourt. My friends the Lee-Childes have been all winter at Tangiers and Tunis— but, I believe, are expected back in a few days. The Laugels are spending the winter in the country. I am writing a couple of short tales—as a trial, to begin with—for Dana the Sun! The die is cast—but I don’t in the least repent of it—as I see no shame in offering my productions to the widest public, in their being “brought home”, as it were, to the great American people. I have lately finished two nouvelles for Osgood the Century: one to be published in three one in two instalments. After these this I am to do one in six, on the same contract, that will finish this business. It will have had its advantages, but it will not have been (owing to my want of greediness in making my bargain) supremely lucrative. I am, however, trusting to the Dana-business to more than make up for that.—What you tell 10
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me about poor Carrie Cranch is most dismal accounts for a most singular, familiar incoherent note that I got from her a month or two ago—in which she sent me a Xmas card (with a presentation to herself by some one else written upon it,) a little penny-photograph, asked me to choose one of them return the other! I answered her note, civilly, but couldn’t tell what to make of it.—I got a short letter from Aunt Mary T. a week ago, expressing a rather blighted state. I have seen Mrs. Clarke three times lately, find her always sweet and charming. She is a most attractive woman. She speaks of Aunt Mary with much tenderness, says she shall never miss her weekly letter, in continuation of her Mother’s.—I am writing this a.m. also to Carrie, sending her something. I am going, so far as I can, to make up to her that $2000 she lost through poor Wilkie’s aberration. I have of course said nothing to her about this, but I shall do it as I can.—I always embrace Frank Lizzie, I have an idea I owe Frank a letter, which she he shall have. It is high time too that I wrote to Mrs. Lodge, I mean to do so, very shortly.—Bob is as a teacher, in Milwaukee, is a wonderful image. He has not the qualities of a pupil, so he may have the opposite. And it is always a career. Send this to William. I say nothing about your winter but can imagine it well. I wish to greet Katherine here—or in Italy— shall write to Barings? Ever, dear child, your affectionate Henry No previous publication
10.7 yesterday • [ first y overwrites illegible letter]
10.34 Dana-business • Dana-busi= | ness
11.8 expressing • ex- | pressing
11.18 , • [, overwrites .]
11.19 is as • [as overwrites is]
11.22–24 but can [. . .] affectionate Henry • [written across the letter’s
first page]
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9.28 separation from Katherine • Beginning in February 1884, AJ’s
friend and caretaker, Katharine Peabody Loring, left AJ to accompany her sister, Louisa Loring, on an extended trip to Europe.
10.7–14 Mrs. Lombard [. . .] poor Fanny • Mrs. Lombard and
her daughter, Fanny, were friends of the Jameses from Cambridge, Massachusetts.
10.16 miss Turgenieff • Ivan Turgenev died on 3 September 1883.
10.19 Daudet • Alphonse Daudet (1840–97) was a French poet, short-
story writer, and novelist. HJ reviewed a number of Daudet’s works; the first review, “Three French Books,” was published in 1875. Daudet married writer Julia Allard (1844–1940) in 1867. They had three children, Léon (1867–1942), Lucien (1878–1946), and Rosalie Ann Marie Edmée (1886– 1937). Daudet suffered from painful complications of venereal disease, which finally took his life.
10.19 qui ne le vaut pas • who is not up to it.
10.20 Auteuil to see Edmond de Goncourt • The home of French nov-
elist Edmond de Goncourt (1822–96) was 53 boulevard de Montmorency, Auteuil, a suburb of Paris.
10.21 Lee-Childes • Edward Lee (1836–1911) and Blanche de Triqueti
Childe (1837–86), friends from HJ’s residence in Paris.
10.22 The Laugels • Auguste Laugel (1830–1914), French writer, jour-
nalist, and Nation contributor, and Elizabeth Bates Chapman Laugel (1831–1913).
10.23–24 a couple of short tales • “Pandora” and “Georgina’s Reasons.”
10.24 Dana the Sun • Charles Anderson Dana (1819–97), American
newspaper editor and owner and editor of the popular New York Sun from 1868 to 1897. 10.28–29 two nouvelles for Osgood the Century: one to be published in three one in two instalments • “Lady Barberina” and “A New England Winter.”
10.30 one in six • The Bostonians.
11.1 Carrie Cranch • Caroline Amelia Cranch (1853–1931), daughter of
James family friends Christopher Pearse Cranch (1813–92) and Elizabeth
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1884 De Windt Cranch (1819–98). Carrie Cranch suffered from mental illness most of her life and had a fixation on HJ in the early 1880s.
11.7 Aunt Mary T. • Mary Temple Tweedy (d. 1891), paternal aunt of
HJ’s cousins the Temples and wife of Edmund Tweedy (c. 1812–1901).
11.8–9 Mrs. Clarke • Mary Temple Rose Clarke (d. 1913), daughter of
Lady Charlotte Temple (1833–83) and John Rose (1820–88) and wife of Stanley Clarke (d. 1911). She was a distant relative of HJ.
11.13 Carrie • Caroline “Carrie” James, widow of GWJ.
11.14–15 $2000 she lost through poor Wilkie’s aberration • According
to Jane Maher, it was only after GWJ died that “the severity of his financial problems” were known (152). This included $2,000 that Carrie James had given GW J to invest in government savings bonds. The bonds were most likely never purchased; WJ wrote to RJ that “the $2000 is certainly squandered” (CWJ 5: 472).
11.16 Frank Lizzie • Francis “Frank” Boott (1813–1904) was an ama-
teur composer and musician, friend of the Jameses, and father of American painter and longtime correspondent of HJ, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Boott (1846–88).
11.18 Mrs. Lodge • Anna Sophia Cabot Lodge (1821–1900).
emma lazarus 5 February [1884] ALS Columbia University, Rare Books and Manuscripts MS #0754
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Paris Feb. 5th (3 Bolton St. Piccadilly.) Dear Miss Lazarus. Your friendly appreciation of my article about Turgénieff gives me real pleasure, as it does also so to get such direct news of you. Your other letter never reached me, inquiry at the Army Navy Cl Club has elicited no traces of it. I am very sorry to have missed such an a gratification; I n have never 13
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yet reconciled myself to having arrived in England just at the moment you were sailing, arranged things so as not to have been able to talk over your impressions with you. But evidently, you have given pledges to reappearance in the stately (or at any rate friendly) homes of England. If I haven’t been able to talk with you I have at least talked of you, every one you saw has asked me for news of you expressed the most attached sentiments. You appear to have done more in three weeks than any light=footed woman before; when you ate or slept I have not yet made definite.—You may imagine indeed how I miss that dear, delightful, human, all-feeling, all perceiving Ivan Sergéitch now. I crossed to this place but three days ago (to spend 2 or 3 weeks) it has been already made clear to me that for all these past years seeing him was much the most interesting thing that Paris held for me—was indeed the only opportunity of much value. The place looks dull, empty colourless, this aspect accords with my own view of it.—London is the same old London—whose worst fault is that it has a little too much of all things. It is too numerous, too promiscuous, too stupid (sometimes,) too a great many other things also. But I love it well, for all that, the proof of my affection is that I am homesick the moment I leave it. I hope you have had a fruitful winter. New York looks to me, in retrospect, like a bright, high-pitched, heterogenous Tiffany=city: as if some big Tiffany had made it. Excuse my blasphemy, give my love to Mrs. Lockwood. No Tiffany made her! !̸ Very faithfully yours H. James Previous publication: Kessner 57–58
13.33 Cl Club • [u overwrites illegible letter] 13.34 n have • [h overwrites n]
14.9 when • [w overwrites ]
14.22 homesick • home- | sick
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14.25 blasphemy • [m malformed]
14.26 !̸ Very • [V overwrites !]
13.22 emma lazarus • Emma Lazarus (1849–87), an American poet. Her most famous work is the 1883 sonnet “The New Colossus,” which is inscribed on a plaque on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.
13.30 my article about Turgénieff • “Ivan Turgénieff.”
13.33 Army Navy [. . .] Club • Men’s club located at 36–40 Pall
Mall.
14.2 you were sailing • Emma Lazarus toured England during the sum-
mer of 1883. She departed England around the same time HJ returned to London from settling his father’s estate in the United States. The two did not meet during this time (see HJ to Emma Lazarus, 2 September [1883], CLHJ, 1883–1884 1: 215–16, 216n215.25).
14.8 three weeks • During her “triumphal tour of England,” Lazarus
met and socialized with “the great and good of British politics, arts, letters and the haute monde” (Alan James, “The Master” 32).
14.11–12 Ivan Sergéitch • Ivan Turgenev.
14.26 Mrs. Lockwood • Florence Bayard Lockwood (1842–98) was the
daughter of a prominent Delaware political family and wife of Maj. Benoni Lockwood (1834–1909).
thomas bailey aldrich 7 February 1884
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(3 Bolton St. W.) Paris, Feb. 7th 1884. ———— Dear Aldrich. Excuse the hasty brevity of a possibly tiresome request. I wrote you some time ago at the request instance of my 15
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friend Hamilton Aidé in regard to the MS. of a novel of his, which he had asked (excuse also my inadvertent 1/2 sheet) to be forwarded to you by the Harpers, for which you will remember I asked your momentary attention. I know not how much you will have been able to give it; I may add that I had no idea at all that you would have found the tale printable. My application was wholly perfunctory, to oblige H. A. Now, he tells me he would like his story back, without troubling you further to look at it think of it, to this end I again appeal to you. Assuming that the Harpers did, as requested, send you the MS., will you please cause it to be redirected posted to: Hamilton Aidé esq. Garden Mansions. Queen’s Anne’s Gate London, S. W.? ———— To this my mission is limited; I am conscious that it will not have made my letter very interesting. I shall probably send you an article (not, alas, a tale) in two or three weeks. I am on the sunny side of the Channel for a fortnight I like my Paris. I hope the slides are good in Mt. Vernon St. Bien des choses chez vous! Ever yours Henry James No previous publication
16.7 perfunctory • per- | functory
16.10 requested • re= | quested
16.21–22 Bien des [. . .] Henry James • [written across the letter’s first page]
16.18–19 send you an article • Possibly one of the “three or four short
critical articles” HJ mentions in his 13 February [1884] letter to Aldrich (p. 22).
16.21 the slides [. . .] Mt. Vernon St. • Probably the practice of “slid-
ing” or “coasting” on snow and ice in the street on sleds or toboggans.
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16.21–22 Bien des choses chez vous • All the best to you and yours.
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Paris. Feb. 7th My dear Gosse. Excuse the brutal brevity with which I enclose you a small cheque for the subscription to the gentle Gray. I am for two or three weeks in this strange land, have so many things to do that I must wait, to be loqucious, for the return to London (when I will come see you) of yours very faithfully Henry James. P.S. I saw yesterday Edm. de Goncourt, who made use of such a charming amusing phrase in speaking of Gustave Flaubert, his slowness of work, long hours at his table reputation for the same. “Il faut vous dire que dans sa journée il y avait innormément de coucheries et d’école buissonière!” Previous publication: Moore, Gosse 30–31
17.20 loqucious • [misspelled]
17.24 charming • [m malformed]
17.10 edmund gosse • Edmund Gosse (1849–1928) was a member
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17.18 the gentle Gray • HJ paid three pounds to support a memorial
bust of English poet Thomas Gray (1716–71) by W. Hamo Thornycroft. The memorial was unveiled at Pembroke College, Cambridge, on 26 May 1885 (Moore, Gosse 31n1).
17.23 Edm. de Goncourt • Edmond Louis Antoine Huot de Goncourt
(1822–96), French journalist, critic, novelist, and coauthor of many books with his brother, Jules Alfred Huot de Goncourt (1830–70).
17.26–27 Il faut vous dire que dans sa journée il y avait innormément de
coucheries et d’école buissonière! • I have to tell you that in his day there were innumerable trysts and truancies!
houghton, mifflin and company 7 February 1884 ALS Houghton bMS Am 1925 (942)-26 20
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3 Bolton St. W. (Paris. Feb. 7th ’84.) Dear Sirs. I beg to acknowledge with thanks your draft on London for the equivalent of $175 in payment for an article in the February Atlantic. Very truly yours Henry James No previous publication
18.25–26 an article in the February Atlantic • The sixth installment of
En Province.
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benjamin holt ticknor 7 February [1884] ALS Duke University, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library 5
Paris. J February 7th ———— Dear Mr. Ticknor. I receive your note of Jan. 21st with the page of Lady Barb enclosed for correction. Gilder has already sent me the same, I answered him immediately making the corrections; so that by the time you get this it will be all write. I sent you two days since a type-copy of Lady B A New England Winter. Punctuality about the cheque will be a blessing to yours very truly Henry James No previous publication
19.6 J February • [F overwrites J]
19.1 benjamin holt ticknor • Boston editor and publisher Benja min Holt Ticknor (1842–1914) was a partner in James R. Osgood and Company. 19.9 Lady Barb • “Lady Barberina” (also included in Tales of Three Cities).
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theodore e. child [9 February 1884] ALS University of Virginia Library Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature, Special 5
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H. de Hollande. Saturday p.m. ———— Dear Child. I should like immensely to go to Daudet’s on Tuesday, beg you to say that I shall be very happy to come. But I shall not be able to get there before 10.30, on acct. of a dinner (a good way deal distant) which I shall not be able to leave till 10 o’clock sharp. I shall be sorry to delay your going so late as that (if you object to it;) though I must add that I should like better to go with you than alone—especially as I don’t know D.’s address, which I have had lost. I shall see you or write to you before that, we will understand about meeting or picking up. (Of course I can easily go alone.) I was 3/4’s of an hour yesterday at your Neapolitan café—but didn’t see you. Many thanks to D. you. Yours ever Henry James No previous publication
20.20 3/4’s • [3 overwrites illegible character]
20.1 theodore e. child • Theodore E. Child (1846–92) was an English writer and journalist residing in Paris. He worked as a Paris corre spondent to London newspapers and edited the Parisian, an “Anglo- American periodical” to which HJ contributed (James, Preface xix).
20.2 [9 February 1884] • HJ arrived in Paris on Saturday, 2 February
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20.11 Daudet’s • French writer Alphonse Daudet (1840–97) hosted HJ,
Child, and several other writers at his home in February 1884. Child wrote an extensive unsigned account of the evening for the May 1884 Atlantic Monthly (“Contributor’s Club,” esp. 724–25).
20.21 your Neapolitan café • Café Tortoni, which Child would later
write was “the centre and quintessence” of the Parisian boulevard (“Characteristic Parisian Cafés” 688).
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Paris, Feb. 13th Hotel de Hollande ———— My dear Aldrich. It is all right about poor H. Aidé. My application to you was purely perfunctory I satisfied sacrificed you without scruple to a social tie! You will already have received my note asking you to please send back his MS. to Queen Anne’s (Garden) Mansions, St. James’s Park, London S. W. And this is the end of that. Yes—I think I shld. like to do you a serial to begin in 1865. Only I don’t think I shld. be able to begin it in January. It would suit me better to open, as the theatrical papers say, in July. I gather, from the way you express yourself, that this would not be inconsistent with your plan. I have in my head, have had 21
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for a year or two a very good sujet de roman of which I shld. make use. What I desire is that you shld. give me 12 monthly instalments of 25 pages each: that my novel shld. in other words run exactly a year. Please let me hear from you in regard to this matter of beginning in July 1865, as to when in this case you shld. desire the first batch of copy. I think too that for a novel beginning upwards of a year a half from now there would probably be something to be said about terms: pregnant word! Between this that the Century is to publish, de moi, 1/ a story in three parts. 2/ a story in two parts. 3/ a story in six parts. And three or four short tales, from my teeming hand, are to appears̷ (this is a profound secret)—have been, in a word, secured, à prix d’or in—je vous le donne en mille—the New York Sunday Sun!! This last fact, I repeat, is really as yet a complete sacred secret. Please bury it in oblivion burn my letter. I mention it, with the preceding items, simply to denote that by July 1865 I expect to have described as be in the enjoyment of ▬ a popularity which will require me to ask $500 a number for the successive instalments of t The Princess Casamassima (which will probably be the name of my novel, though of on this I am not yet fixed.) I shld. like also to say that it will probably be a good thing for all of us if I that I shld. send you between this the end of the year three or four short critical articles which I have in my head, which crave to be written. Besides relieving my mind of thoughts that ferment in it, they will do to complete a volume of essays which I desire to put forth by the end of the year which will probably represent the last of this sort of work which I shall do for a long time to come.—This latter is a reason which says more of course to me than to you; but I leave in it in its naïveté: one learns to be so naïf in Paris.—I have been here (for that other advantages,) for the last fortnight shall remain to the end of the month. Paris is charming; bright, mild a little dull, “naturalism” is in possession sur toute la ligne. I spent last evening at Alph. Daudet’s, was much impressed with 22
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the intense seriousness of that little group—him, himself, Zola, Goncourt, c. About Daudet’s intensity of effort there is something tragical, his wasted, worn extraordinarily beautiful refined little face expresses it in a way which almost brings tears to my eyes. The torment of style, the lo high standard of it, the effort to say something perfectly in a language in which everything has been said re-said,—so that there are certain things, certain cases, which can never again be suppose attempted—all this seemed seems to me to be wearing them all out, so that they have the look of galley-slaves tied to a ball chain, rather than of happy producers. Daudet tells me that the act of production, execution, for him, is nothing but effort suffering—the only joy, ( that he admits is great) is that of conception, of planning arranging. This all proves, what one always feels that (in their narrow circle) terrible are the subtleties they attempt. Daudet spoke of his envy admiration of the “serenity of production” of Turgénieff—working in a field a language where the white snow had as yet so few foot=prints. In French, he said, it is all one trampled slosh— one has to look, forever, to see where one can put down one’s step. And he wished to know how it was in English. What do you think I ought to have told him?—Your account of your cook gives me yearnings even in the Rue de la Paix. But you will probably see me here (that is in London,) before I see you in your savoury halls. I am very sorry to hear of Howells’s visitation. Give him my love, tell him that I am always, theoretically platonically, writing him letters. Some day before long, he shall have a direct sign from me. I thank Mrs. Aldrich very kindly for her attention to the vol. of Portraits am every faithfully yours Henry James
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21.24 application • applica- | tion
21.32 • [blotted out]
22.11–12 appears̷ ( • [( overwrites s]
22.19 t The • [T overwrites t]
22.27 represent • repres= | ent
22.29 in it • [t overwrites n] 23.9 seemed seems • [s overwrites ed]
23.10 galley-slaves • galley- | slaves
23.13 great • [g overwrites illegible letter] 23.29 every • [blotted out]
21.26 my note • See HJ to Thomas Bailey Aldrich, 7 February 1884,
pp. 15–16.
21.30 a serial to begin in 1865 • The Princess Casamassima.
21.30 1865 • HJ likely meant to write 1885.
22.1 sujet du roman • material for a novel.
22.2–3 12 monthly instalments • The Princess Casamassima ran for fourteen installments from September 1885 to October 1886.
22.5 1865 • HJ likely meant to write 1885.
22.9–10 a story in three parts • “Lady Barberina.”
22.10 a story in two parts • “A New England Winter.”
22.10 a story in six parts • The Bostonians.
22.10–11 And three or four short tales • Only two, “Pandora” and
“Georgina’s Reasons,” were published in the New York Sun.
22.12–13 à prix d’or • at top dollar.
22.13 je vous le donne en mille • guess what.
22.23 three or four short critical articles • Only one, “George Eliot’s
Life [by G. W. Cross],” appeared in the Atlantic Monthly.
22.25–26 volume of essays • Partial Portraits, not published until
1888.
22.33 possession sur toute la ligne • there all down the line; everywhere.
23.3–4 his wasted, worn [. . .] face • Perhaps a reference to some effects
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1884 of Daudet’s venereal disease (see HJ to Theodore E. Child, 10 October [1883], CLHJ, 1883–1884 231, 232n231.3–4).
23.16–19 Daudet spoke of his envy [. . .] so few foot=prints • Leon Edel
notes this remembered phrase as appearing in HJ’s preface to The Golden Bowl: “It was, all sensibly, as if the clear matter being still there, even as a shining expanse of snow spread over a plain” (James, Literary Criticism 2: 1381n1330.8; Novels and Tales 23: xiii–xiv).
23.25–26 Howells’s visitation • Howells’s son, John Mead Howells, had
scarlet fever.
23.29 vol. of Portraits • Portraits of Places.
william james 20 February [1884] ALS Houghton
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Hotel de Hollande. Paris—Feb. 1 20th My dear William. I owe you an answer to two letters—especially to the one in which you announce to me the birth of the your little Israelite. I bid him the most affectionate welcome into this world of care I hope that by this time he has begun to get used to it. I am to delighted to hear of Alice’s well-being, trust it has now merged into complete recovery. Apropos of the Babe, allow me to express an earnest hope that you will give him some handsome pictorial name (with within discreet limits.) Most of our names are rather colourless—give him collez-lui dessus, therefore, a little patch of brightness. And don’t call him after any one—give him a name quite to himself. And let it be only one.—Your 2d note came to me just as I was reproaching myself with not having made some response to the request in relation to Josephine James in the first. It came in the a day 25
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after I had sent off $105 to Carrie, (as I do every now then) at a moment when I was disappointed at not receing some money which had appeared due this month on which I was counting for my visit to Paris. It will come next month, (the 1st) then I will send you a five-pound note. I am sadly afraid you have got poor Josephine her children rather on your back.—I came here 18 days ago, remain another week. A month or two 6 weeks of Paris, in the year, does me good helps to keeps̷ me going, this one has been pleasant profitable, especially as I have been working every day. (I am at this moment writing two short tales for C. A. Dana, to see how I shall like it,— he too; but on this absolute silence.) I have seen more or less of the little American world here, including F. Loring, who asks with much interest after you, seems as much as ever F. L. not much more than ever an artiste-peintre. I have seen several times the gifted Sargent, whose work I admire exceedingly who is a remarkably artistic nature charming fellow. I have also spent an evening with A. Daudet a morning at Auteuil with Ed. de Goncourt. Seeing these people does me a world of good, their intellectual vivacity raffinement make the English mind seem like a sort of glue-pot. But their ignorance, corruption complacency are strange, full strange. I wish I had time to give you more of my impressions of them. They are at any rate very interesting; Daudet, who has a remarkable personal charm is as beautiful as the day, was extremely nice to me. I saw also Zola at his house, the whole group are great pessimists of course intense pessimists. Daudet justified this to me (as regards himself ) by the general sadness of life his fear, for instance, whenever he comes in, that his wife children may have died while he was out! I hope you manage to keep free from this apprehension.—I have dined with the Crafts seen them elsewhere once or twice. They also speak much of you, are apparently the only pure-minded people here.—I have a good letter from Aunt Kate this a.m. also a pleasant one from 26
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Howells. A. K. speaks of Alice’s going to N. Y. to an electrician of K. L.s imminent departure. I hope both things will do her good, , paradoxical as it may be appear, I believe the latter will have its advantages. She is on my mind much less than she used to be, convinced as I am that, for better for worse, she can take care of herself. I return to London on the 27th, to stick fast there till the summer. I embrace Alice the little Jew am ever your affectuous Henry. Previous publication: Lubbock 1: 102–3; CWJ 1: 374–75
25.19 1 20 • [2 overwrites 1] 25.34 the • [blotted out]
26.2 moment • mo- | ment
26.2 receing • [misspelled]
26.8 keeps̷ • [blotted out]
26.20 raffinement • raffine= | ment
26.27 justified • justi- | fied
25.22–23 birth of the your little Israelite • WJ’s son Herman James
(31 January 1884–9 July 1885), whom WJ thought looked Jewish (“jüdisch aussehender”; see WJ to Henry Pickering Bowditch, [31 January 1884], CWJ 5: 486).
25.28 handsome pictorial name • WJ named his son after Her‑
mann Hagen (1817–93), a German entomologist and Harvard professor (see CWJ 1: 378n1). HJ found this name troublesome and urged WJ to change it (see HJ to WJ, 26 March [1884], pp. 74–75 and 21 April [1884], p. 98).
25.29–30 collez-lui dessus • stick on him.
25.34 Josephine James • Josephine Worth James (1831–1920), wife of
Sr.’s brother Howard James (1828–87).
26.10–11 two short tales for C. A. Dana • Charles Anderson Dana
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26.13 F. Loring • Francis William Loring (1838–1905).
26.16 the gifted Sargent • American painter John Singer Sargent
(1856–1925). 26.20 raffinement • sophistication.
26.31 the Crafts • American chemist James Mason Crafts (1839–1917)
and his wife, Clémence Haggerty Crafts (1841–1912), who were living in Paris.
27.1 an electrician • AJ went under the care of William B. Neftel
(1830–1906), a New York City physician who specialized in using electrical current to treat nervous conditions. Howard M. Feinstein notes that Neftel, “a Russian émigré who specialized in the treatment of nervous diseases, practiced in New York City. He treated many prominent Bostonians with galvanic currents applied to muscles and nerves to relieve neurasthenia” (205).
william dean howells 20
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Paris. Feb. 21st 1884. ———— My dear Howells. Your letter of the 2d last gives me great pleasure. A frozen Atlantic seemed to stretch between us, I had had no news of you to speak of save an allusion, in a late letter of T. B. A., th to your having infant-disease in your home house. You give me a good account of this, I hope your tax is paid for the year at least. These are not things to make a hardened bachelor mend his ways.—I Hardened as I am, however I am not proof against being delighted to hear that my Barberina tale entertained 28
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you. I am not prepared even to resent the malignity of your remark that the last 3d is not the best. It isn’t; the Ameri=part is squeezed together écourté. It is always the fault of my things that the head and trunk are too big the legs too short. I spread myself always, at first, from a nervous fear that I shall not have enough of my peculiar tap to “go round.” But I always (or generally) have )and and therefore, at the end, have to fill one of the cups to overflowing. My tendency to this disproportion remains incorrigibl. I begin short tales as if they were to be long novels. Àpropos of which, ask Osgood to show you also the sheets of another thing I lately sent him—“a A New England Winter.” It is not very good—on the contrary; but it will perhaps seem to you to put into form a certain impression of Boston.—What you tell me of the success of Crawford’s last novel sickens almost paralyses me. It seems to me (the book) so contemptibly bad ignoble that the idea of people reading it in such numbers makes one return upon one’s self ask what is the use of trying to write something anything decent or serious for a public so absolutely idiotic. It must be totally wasted. I would rather have produced the basest experiment in the naturalist “naturalism” that is being practiced here than such a piece of sixpenny humbug. Work so shamelessly bad seems to me to dishonour the novelist’s art to a degree that is absolutely not to be forgiven; just as its success dishonours the people for whom one supposes one’s self to write. Excuse my ferocity, ( which (more discreetly philosophically) I think you must share; don’t mention it, please, to any one, as it will be set down to green-eyed jealousy.—I came to this place three weeks since—on the principle that anything is quieter than London; but I return to the British scramble in a few days. Paris speaks to me, always, for about such a time as this, with many voices; but at the end of a month I have heard all it has to say. I have been seeing something of Daudet, Goncourt, Zola; there is none nothing more interesting to me now 29
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than the effort experiment of this little group, with its truly infernal intelligence of art, form, manner—its intense artistic life. They do the only kind of work, to-day, that I respect; in spite of their ferocious pessimism their handling of unclean things, they are at least serious and honest. The floods of tepid soap and water which under the name of novels are being vomited forth in England, seem to me, by contrast, to do little honour to our race. I say this to you, because I regard you as the great American naturalist. I don’t think you go far enough, you are haunted with romantic phantoms a tendency to art factitious glosses; but you are in the right path, I wish you repeated triumphs there—beginning with your Americo- Venetian—though I slightly fear, from what you tell me, that he will have a certain “gloss.” It isn’t for me to reproach you with that, however, the said gloss being a constant defect of my characters; they have too much of it—too damnably much. But I am a failure!—comparatively. Read Zola’s last thing: La Joie de Vivre. The title of course has a desperate irony; but the thing work is admably solid serious.—I haven’t much London news for you. I see the genial Gosse occasionally, the square-headed Tadema, whose d’s t’s are so mixed; they frequently ask about you. Miss Fenimore Woolson is spending the winter there; I see her at discreet intervals, we talk of you Mrs. you. She is a very intelligent woman, understands when she is spoken to; a peculiarity I prize, as I find it more more rare.—I am very happy to as to what you tell me of Perry’s having a large piece of work to do; I pray it may yield him some profit comfort. Sad indeed has been hitherto the history of his career, the cynical indifference of the public to so good a production (in spite of weaknesses of form) as his 18th Century makes me f blush for it. As you see, I am blushing a good deal for the public now. Give Perry my love, please, when you see him next, tell him I am acutely conscious of owing him, or rather indeed his wife, a letter; they shall really have it 30
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soon. Addio—stia bene. I wish you could send me anything you have in the way of advance-sheets. It is rather hard that as you are the only English novelist I read (except Miss Woolson,) I shouldn’t have more comfort with you. Give my love to Winny; I am sure she will dance herself well. Why doesn’t Mrs. Howells try it too? Tout à vous Henry James Previous publication: Lubbock 1: 103–5; HJL 3: 27–29; Anesko, Letters, Fictions, Lives 241–44; Horne 152–54
28.30 home house • [us overwrites m] 28.33 I Hardened • [H overwrites I]
29.9 incorrigibl • [misspelled]
29.11 a A • [A overwrites a] 29.21 naturalist “naturalism” • [m overwrites t]
29.26 ferocity • feroci- | ty
29.26 philosophically • philos- | ophically
29.29 anything • any- | thing
29.34 none nothing • [th overwrites ne]
30.19 admably • [misspelled]
30.21 square-headed • square- | headed
30.26 to as • [a overwrites to]
30.29 indifference • in- | difference
30.31 f blush • [b overwrites f ]
31.5–6 she will [. . .] Henry James • [written across the letter’s first page]
29.3 écourté • shortened.
29.14–15 Crawford’s last novel • Francis Marion Crawford’s To Lee-
ward, which sold ten thousand copies in its first year (Anesko, Letters, Fictions, Lives 241n6).
30.12–13 Americo-Venetian • According to Anesko, Howells loosely
planned a novel in which “he could contrast the nascent nationality of America and the dying nationality of Venice” (Letters, Fictions, Lives
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30.22 Miss Fenimore Woolson • Constance Fenimore Woolson (1840–
94), American author and great-niece of James Fenimore Cooper. Woolson, who moved around Europe frequently, was residing at the time in London, where she and HJ socialized often.
30.32 Perry • Thomas Sergeant Perry.
31.1 Addio—stia bene • Good-bye—be well.
31.4 Winny • Winifred Howells (1863–89), William Dean Howells’s
daughter. Anesko explains that Winifred Howells “was preparing to make her social debut in Boston, an event later canceled owing to her declining health” (Letters, Fictions, Lives 244n14).
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Hotel de Hollande Rue de la Paix. Feb. 21st ———— Dear Mrs. Ward. The date of my return to London is as yet uncertain, but I am thinking of the 27th–29th; if I find myself there on March 2d shall be delighted to come on in on that day, Sunday. It will give me great pleasure to make your brother’s acquaintance—though as a general thing I seek cleverly to remain a mystery to “ardent admirers.”— Paris has been mild charming, is always to me interesting—for three weeks. I have seen plays performers that have dropped as a curtain over that last aberration of the 32
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misguided Mary. I have also read a good deal of “naturalism”. The distance from Paris to London is surely not hundreds, but hundreds of thousands, of miles. Nevertheless I shall soon re- traverse it. Tout à vous, Madame, Henry James No previous publication
32.26 uncertain • un- | certain
32.33 seen • [n malformed]
33.3–4 re- | traverse • re-traverse
32.15 mary augusta arnold ward • British novelist and philanthropist (1851–1920) who wrote under the name Mrs. Humphry Ward.
32.29 your brother’s • Probably William Thomas Arnold (1852–1904),
writer for the Manchester Guardian. Less likely, Theodore Percy Arnold (1855–1923), whose home was in Tasmania.
33.1 misguided Mary • Mary Antoinette Anderson (1859–1940), an
American actress and friend of HJ and Ward and the inspiration for Ward’s 1884 novel Miss Bretherton. After meeting Anderson in January 1884, HJ and Ward saw her less than spectacular performance in the lead role of W. S. Gilbert’s Comedy and Tragedy at the Lyceum (Sutherland 101).
33.1 read a good deal of “naturalism” • HJ admired the works of “that
little group,” Daudet, Zola, and Goncourt (see HJ to Thomas Bailey Aldrich, 13 February [1884], pp. 22–23).
33.5 Tout à vous • Altogether yours.
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Paris, Feb. 22d 1884 H. de Hollande, R. de la Paix. ———— My dear Godkin. I have been meaning to write to you for the last ten days to offer you reparation for a gross liberty I took with you—à mon corps défendant—about that time. You will perhaps some time before you get this have received some species of overture from Mme Hope Kirke, to whom I gave a letter to you. Don’t lift your little finger in her service save in so far as it may be of interest to you to do so, as the lady seems to merit it. I mean, don’t think it necessary to honour the letter because it came from me. It was extorted, or at least wrung from me, by a very worthy excellent man in London, W. R. S. Ralston a Russian scholar, a great friend ( translator) of Turgenieff, a being as honourable as he is tactless. He asked me for it on behalf of the lady, in whose career in America he takes much interest, I refused it, on the ground that I didn’t know her that I never gave letters of introduction to people I didn’t know; thinking it a most unjustifiable proceeding. He returned to the charge, however, pathetically, I succumbed, sauf à vous envoyer cet avertissement. The lady is a pianist of distinction here, I believe, Ralston tells me she is a highly respectable agreeable person. But don’t let her bother you, forgive me the only indiscretion of the kind of which I have ever been guilty.—I write to you, as you see, from la grande ville impudique; where—at the price of my pudeur—I have been spending the last three weeks. I return to Bolton St. in a few days—there to await with impatience the news of your 34
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arranged departure for these shores. Do let me know, at the earliest moment, when this event takes a definite form. I count upon you, if you betray me I shall not be the same again. You won’t either, I am sure, if you lose your opportunity this time. Keep a firm hold of it, therefore, remember with what fermentations I expect you.—We are drawing to the close of the mildest, brightest winter I have known; a winter in which I haven’t had the smallest sensation of cold. Paris is the same old Paris, with the same old “colony”—the ladies, now, are very ancient— bright, easy entertaining to me, (for two or three weeks) in spite of the insecurity of republican institutions, the crise économique, the absence of foreigners, the dirtiness bouleversement of the streets. I have a number of old friends here who are in also intelligent intelligible people, my little visit has broken the back of the London winter. I met Laugel last night at dinner, found him as usual very good as a causeur, very Anglophobe.—My news of London is a month old; there is no news there now of course except the (to me) very welcome news that the government has decided, has begun, to do something in Egypt. Even among strong liberals it is was very ill-spoken of.—I shld. like very much some tidings of your saloon, of Lawrence, its principal ornament. Has he begun the practice of his profession, how does he like it as far as he has got? Give him my love tell him I wish he were the companion of these my fleeting Parisian days. Like him, I am fond of the French; but I like the English better.—I met James Bryce just before I left London, he threw a chill upon me by speaking of your coming out this year as if it were only rather contingent. Please dissipate this. Charles Bowen spoke to me lately of the pleasure he had ( all ces messieurs, too) in your society on poor Villard’s expedition. I am afraid his V.’s disasters have not been a good thing for you, give you all the symaphy the occasion may call for. Tout à vous Henry James 35
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34.12 perhaps • per- | haps
34.26 I • [I overwrites illegible letter]
34.27 avertissement • avertisse- | ment
34.37 to you • [y overwrites to] 35.14 in also • [a overwrites in]
35.18 ) • [) overwrites (]
35.28 contingent • con= | tingent
35.32–33 for you [. . .] Henry James • [written across the letter’s first page]
35.32 symaphy • [misspelled]
35.33 occasion • [n malformed]
34.11–12 à mon corps défendant • reluctantly.
34.14 Mme Hope Kirke • Helen Hopekirk (1856–1945), Scottish pianist who later taught at the Boston Conservatory of Music.
34.19 W. R. S. Ralston • William Ralston Shedden-Ralston (1828–89)
was a translator of Russian literature, including Turgenev, whose work both he and HJ admired.
34.20 ( translator) of Turgenieff • See, especially, Ralston’s transla-
tions of Turgenev’s Liza, “The Dog,” and “The Idiot.”
34.27 sauf à vous envoyer cet avertissement • except for sending you
this warning.
34.31–32 la grande ville impudique • the great shameless city.
34.32 pudeur • modesty.
35.12 crise économique • economic crisis.
35.13 bouleversement • upheaval, disruption.
35.15 Laugel • Auguste Laugel (1830–1914) was a French writer, jour-
nalist, and Nation contributor who married Elizabeth Bates Chapman (b. 1831).
35.16 causeur • conversationalist.
35.19–20 the government has decided, has begun, to do something
in Egypt • Following a vacillating governing policy and strategy in Egypt and Sudan, perceived diplomatic missteps, military defeats, and protests
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1884 at home against perceived national weakness in international affairs, the British government was pledging to mend its ways and reverse the situation (“London, Friday, February 15, 1884”; “The Vote of Censure”; “The Vote of Censure Moved by Sir Stafford”; “The Debate”; “London, Monday, February 18, 1884”; “City Meeting”).
35.22 Lawrence • Lawrence Godkin (1860–1929), New York attorney
and son of Edwin Lawrence Godkin.
35.26 James Bryce • Bryce (1838–1922) was a British legal historian and
author of The American Commonwealth. He served as chief secretary for Ireland (1905–6) and ambassador to the United States (1907–13). He was made 1st Viscount Bryce in 1913.
35.29 Charles Bowen • Charles Synge Christopher Bowen (1835–94),
English judge. He was among an exclusive group of English guests who traveled on the Northern Pacific Railway’s celebratory journey to the Pacific Northwest.
35.31 poor Villard’s expedition • Henry Villard (1835–1900), owner of
the Evening Post (of which Godkin was editor) and Northern Pacific Railway baron. In August 1883 Godkin accompanied Villard on a six-week journey through the American West, celebrating the completion of the Northern Pacific’s transcontinental line.
35.31 V.’s disasters • Facing mounting criticism for extreme over-
spending during the Northern Pacific’s westward line expansion, Villard resigned from the railway on 4 January 1884.
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(3 Bolton St. Piccadilly. W.) Paris Jan. 22nd, 1884. My dear J. A. Symonds, Your good letter came to me just as I was leaving London (for a month in this place—to return there in a few days,) and the distractions and interruptions incidental to a short stay in Paris must account for my not having immediately answered it, as the spirit moved me to do. I thank you for it very kindly, and am much touched by your telling me that a communication from me should in any degree, and for a moment, have lighted up the horizon of the Alpine crevice in which I can well believe you find it hard, and even cruel, to be condemned to pass your life. To condole with you on a fate so stern must seem at the best but a hollow business; I will therefore only wish you a continuance of the courage of which your abundant and delightful work gives such evidence, and take pleasure in thinking that there may be entertainment for you in any of my small effusions.—I did send you the Century more than a year ago, with my paper on Venice, not having then the prevision of my reprinting it with some other things. I sent it you because it was a constructive way of expressing the good will I felt for you in consequence of what you have written about the land of Italy—and of intimating to you, somewhat dumbly, that I am an attentive and sympathetic reader. I nourish for the said Italy an unspeakably tender passion, and your pages always seemed to say to me that you were one of a small number of people who love it as much as I do—in addition to your knowing it immeasurably better. I wanted to recognize this (to your 38
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knowledge;) for it seemed to me that the victims of a common passion shld sometimes exchange a look, and I sent you off the magazine at a venture, in spite of its containing an article (à mon addresse) of painfully overcharged appreciation from my dear friend Howells and a horrible effigy of my countenance; to neither of which did I wish to give circulation. I spent last winter in the United States and while I was there another old and excellent friend of mine, Sargent Perry, the most lettered American almost, and most unsuccessful writer that I know, read me a portion of a note he had had from you, in which you were so good as to speak (in a friendly—very friendly way) of the little paper in the Century. The memory of this led me, when Portraits of Places came out, to wish to put you in possession of the article in a more decent form. I thank you very sincerely for the good-natured things you say of its companions. It is all very light work indeed, and the only merit I shld dream of any one finding in it would be that it is “prettily turned”. I thank you still further for your offer to send me the Tauchnitz volumes of your Italian local sketches. I know them already well, as I have said, and possess them in the English issue; but I shall welcome them warmly, directly from you—especially as I gather that they have occasional retouchings. I lately spent a number of months in America, after a long absence, but I live in London and have put my constant address at the top of my letter. I imagine that it is scarcely ever in your power to come to England, but do take note of my whereabouts, for this happy (and possibly, to you, ideal) contingency. I should like very much to see you—but I go little, nowadays, to Switzerland in summer, (though at one time I was there a good deal) I think it possible moreover that at that season you get out of your Alps. I certainly shld, in your place, for the Alps are easily too many for me.—I can well imagine the innumerable things you miss at Davos—year after year—and (I will say it) I 39
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think of you with exceeding sympathy. As a sign of that I shall send you everything I publish. I shake hands with me, and am very truly yours Henry James. Previous publication: Lubbock 1: 106–7; HJL 3: 29–31; SL 2: 196–98
38.1 john addington symonds • Symonds (1840–93), a friend of Edmund Gosse, was a British author probably known best for his series of books on the Italian Renaissance and pioneering work on homosexuality. HJ cites Symonds’s disagreements with his wife as the source for his 1884 story, “The Author of ‘Beltraffio’” (Complete Notebooks 25–26). Symonds resided in Davos, Switzerland.
38.2 22 [February] 1884; misdated January • While it is possible that HJ
himself misdated this, it’s more likely that “Jan.” is a transcriber’s error. HJ had been in Paris since 2 February 1884.
38.25 my paper on Venice • “Venice,” published in the Century
Magazine.
38.28–29 you have written about the land of Italy • The first five vol-
umes of Symonds’s seven-volume The Renaissance in Italy were published by 1884. HJ owned at least twenty volumes of Symonds’s work (Edel and Tintner 59–60).
39.3–4 article (à mon addresse) of painfully overcharged appreciation
from my dear friend Howells • Howells’s “Henry James, Jr.”
39.5 effigy of my countenance • An engraving of HJ by Timothy Cole
immediately precedes Howells’s “Henry James, Jr.”
39.18–19 Tauchnitz volumes of your Italian local sketches • Sketches in
Italy and New Italian Sketches.
39.31–33 your Alps [. . .] Davos • Symonds lived in Davos, Switzerland,
where he settled to find relief for symptoms of tuberculosis.
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grace norton 23 February 1884 ALS Houghton bMS Am 1094 (956) 5
Paris, Feb. 23d 1884. ———— My dear Grace. I lose no time in thanking you for your charming letter of the 7th, as it came to me only yesterday. I had been thinking of you the day before, as Mrs. Strong then mentioned to me the death of Mrs. Swift. What you say about it is in agreement with what I supposed you would feel, I can’t but greatly grieve to hear of your losing a friend. Besides, anything sad that happens to you always seems to me sadder than the same thing happening to anyone else—I don’t know, indeed, that I can explain the sense in which I mean that; I shrink, instinctively, by sympathy when I hear of your receiving another indentation.—I congratulate you on having anything Shakspeare to take you out of these and other current realities. He is indeed a world, by himself, there is no world of the mind in which one can lose one’s self more, feel more beguilement fascination—more infinite suggestion and illumination. There is no one who, literally, transports us more.—I came to Paris three weeks ago, I return to Bolton St. at the end of my month. If you ask me why I came, I don’t know that I can tell you more than that it is a part of my present plan of existence to get six weeks of the year in this place, that (not having been here for a year a half ) the present month of February seemed a good moment to take out a part of my time. It has broken the back of the London winter. I always like Paris for a fortnight—but ought to take only a fortnight at once. However, it always gives me a certain sort of intellectual stimulus, speaks to me on the whole with many voices. Those 41
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of certain old friends belonging to the little American group are doubtless among the number; though as a generally thing, if I may say it without disloyalty, to you, they are not the most eloquent. That is a very contracted monotonous set, three or four of whose members were meant for better things. Poor Mrs. Strong I have seen several times— can only say of her—poor Mrs. Strong!—flitting with weary eagerness from one exhausted little Paris pastime fo to another, completely destitute of domestic or internal resources. She is really a warning. (These remarks, by the way, are very indiscreet, you had better burn my letter.) The only Franco-American product of importance here strikes me as young John Sargent the painter, who has high talent, a charming nature—artistic personal, is civilized to his fingertips. He is perhaps spoilable—though I don’t think he is spoiled. But I hope not, for I like him extremely; the best of his work seems to me to have in it something exquisite. The Lee Childes are lately just now back from three months in Algeria Tunis, I have seen them, familiarly, three or four times; am indeed to breakfast with them tomorrow, Sunday: the only day I ever commit that matutinal crime. He seems to me worn and weary bored, she very intelligent, even brilliant, very agreeable in the superficial commerce of life; but quite destitute of moral sense. (Burn, decidedly; burn!) I greatly miss Turgenieff, see how much his presence here has been for me in all these last visits of mine to Paris. I saw yesterday an old Russian friend of mine, the Princess Ouroussoff, who told me some very interesting ( sad) things about his condition in the last year of his life; also gave me some impressions (very sad also) of a late visit of hers to Russia after a long absence. “C’est un pays perdu—il faut y être ou laquais ou nihiliste.”—I have been working about as usual since I have been here, am pouring various works of fiction into the capacious bosom of the Century, which will come to the front when the Century pleases. I have likewise agreed to publish a long novel in the 42
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Atlantic (to run a 12 month) next year. Finish up Shakspeare, therefore, to have an unbiassed mind for H. J.—I thank you tenderly for your good words about the Portraits of Places. Yes, I reflect too much—or not enough; I don’t know which. I ought, that, is to go either much farther, or not so far. But they belong to a class of composition which I have left behind me to-day; they are very slight thin, I don’t take enough interest in them to judge them. Wait for my future productions.—I hear on the whole good news of Alice; that is, in the sense that I feel quite warranted in easing to worry about her. She is evidently able to stand on her own feet, her “loneliness” gives her much more comfort than distress. It presents itself to her in the form of independence absolute freedom, her appreciation of these things is, from the cast of her character, very high. Therefore she is, I am happy to say, a good deal “off my mind;” a fortunate circumstance, as she has always been much disgusted when she suspected she was on it.—Wilky’s children are, I believe, doing well enough (in their odious circumstances;) but his poor wife much less so, inasmuch as she wrote me the other day that it would be, to her thinking, a “glorious thing” if she they could lie down together die. She is desolate, feeble in health, poor; but during the trials of her last six months has shown great courage, feeling discretion; “come out” more than I expected her to. It is my belief that she will not live long. Then we shall be confronted with the question of her children— but sufficient unto the day!—I got a pleasant letter the other day from Howells—whose simplicity of mind—in artistic literary questions—seems to be me—especially in the midst of a Parisian contagion—inexpressible. I have been seeing a little of the propagators of that contagion—Daudet, Goncourt c, shld. tell you about them if we cld. really talk. Daudet is a dear little man, extraordinarily beautiful, but very sad, looking to me exhausted with all the brilliant ingenuities he has dug out of his heart. He two or three others here interest me much; 43
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they have gone so far in the art of expression. But they are the children of a decadence, I think (a brilliant one—unlike ours: that is, the English) they are strangely corrupt prodigiously ignorant. In spite of all this they represent a great deal of truth. 5
I don’t want my last word to be about French novels;—but it is no fiction, dear Grace, that I am ever your tout déovué Henry James Previous publication: HJL 3: 31–33
41.19 anything • any- | thing
41.23 suggestion • sugges- | tion
42.3–4 eloquent • [e overwrites illegible letter]
42.11 product • pro= | duct
42.13 a • [a overwrites ]
42.14 fingertips • finger= | tips
43.6 belong • [be overwrites illegible letter]
43.15 Therefore • There= | fore
43.28 be me • [m overwrites be]
43.32 extraordinarily • extraordin- | arily
44.5–7 about French [. . .] Henry James • [written across the letter’s first
page]
41.1 grace norton • Grace Norton (1834–1926), sister of Charles Eliot Norton and longtime friend of HJ.
41.11 Mrs. Strong • Eleanor Burritt Fearing Strong (1831–1903), wife of
Charles Strong and mother of Kate Fearing Strong Welman (1851–1907). HJ had known Mrs. Strong since 1869.
41.12 the death of Mrs. Swift • Hannah W. Howard Swift (1821–84), a
friend of Grace Norton who lived at 11 West 16th Street in New York City, died 6 January 1884.
42.23–24 I greatly miss Turgenieff • Ivan Turgenev died on 3 Septem-
ber 1883.
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42.26 Princess Ouroussoff • Marie Ouroussoff (1844–1904), a Russian
princess married to Prince Serge Ouroussoff. She hosted a salon in Paris.
42.29–30 C’est un pays [. . .] nihiliste • It’s a lost country—there you
must be either a lackey or a nihilist.
42.34–43.1 a long novel in the Atlantic • The Princess Casamassima,
which ran for fourteen months.
43.9 good news of Alice • In late 1883 AJ was “pretty poorly” and lived
alone (see HJ to WJ, 24 November [1883], CLHJ, 1883–1884 1: 268). By February she felt well enough to travel to New York City to visit a nerve specialist.
43.17 Wilky’s children • Joseph Cary James (1874–1925) and Alice
James Edgar (1875–1923).
43.19 his poor wife • Caroline “Carrie” James (1851–1931).
44.6 tout déovué • completely devoted.
henrietta reubell 26 February [1884] ALS Houghton bMS Am 1094 (1054)
20
Hotel de Hollande Rue de la Paix. Feb. 26th Dear Miss Henrietta. It is past one o’clock in the morning—but I can’t seek my a few hours of repose without sending you a word of farewell thanking you once more for your hospitality kindness. For me you are much of Paris— to take leave of Paris is, as it were, to take leave in person of you, the graceful incarnation. This makes it all the greater loss to me not to have been able to see you either yesterday or today, to breathe a soft farewell. I sent you a small adieu to-day from the Boulevard, but I believe it won’t reach you till tomorrow. You can’t breathe it, but you 45
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can eat it, I trust it will be soft; or at least not hard. I had reserved you, these 48 hours, for some fine interstice, but what with studios, sick beds operas (not Manon) my day hasn’t had the least little crack. This is the only one, between packing going to bed. There is just room in it to for the thousand good wishes which I sent you your delightful Mother. Au revoir Mademoiselle. Continue to shine on Sundays weekdays, not with a cold light. Look after votre petit monde, , in alternation with Mrs. Boit, be the shepherdess of the studios. I think that you she, in this capacity, ought to mount little ribboned crooks. Farewell again, dear lady, may your happiness never be less than your hospitality. The latter has added much to that of yours very faithfully Henry James Do you ever use cartes-telegrammes? Accept the hommage of this residuum. ———— No previous publication
45.17 henrietta reubell • Henrietta Reubell (c. 1849–1924) was a Paris resident and close friend of HJ.
46.3 Manon • Jules Massinet’s Manon, which premiered 19 January
1884 at the Opéra-Comique in Paris.
46.8 votre petit monde • your own little world.
46.9 Mrs. Boit • Mary Louisa Cushing Boit (1846–98), wife of Ameri-
can expatriate painter Edward Darley Boit (1840–1915); they moved to Europe in 1871. HJ had known the Boits since at least 1876.
46.15 cartes-telegrammes • A telegram sent through a pneumatic tube
in Paris; also called a “pneu” or “pneumatique” to distinguish it from a conventional telegram.
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alice james 29 February [1884] ALS Houghton bMS Am 1094 (1603) 5
3 Bolton St. W. Feb. 29th ———— Dearest Sister. I seem to my self to be constantly letting longer intervals elapse between my letters to you; but I suppose that is inevitable in a prolonged correspondence. I will try not let silence get too much ahead of speech. I wrote you last just after I had gone over to Paris; from which place I returned, after a stay of some three weeks, two days ago. I am very glad to return to relapse into Bolton St, as I always am, after any absence, however pleasant I say this without detriment to Paris, which, for short periods, is always charming to me. Nothing very particular happened to me there, but I saw my old friends the new plays had some excellent food. I greatly missed Turgenieff, but I saw the Princess Ouroussoff, whom I used to see a good deal of old, who is a most clever curious woman, she told me very various things about the last year of his life. I am much horrified to learn that since his death Mme Viardot complains of him—of his having impoverished them; whereas he ruined himself for her her children. But these are odious discussions. While I was in Paris I heard from Aunt Kate of your going intending to go on to N. Y. to try an electrician; therefore suppose that you have achieved it that you even now are lodged behind some brown-stone front of your native city. This sounds to me like a big attempt, I hope it will be a big success. The drama of your separation from Catherine is well over now, I suppose; I will not indulge in vain conjectures as to how you bear your bereavement. I pray that whatever it may 47
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be, it is at least not worse than you—or she—supposed. I am writing her a word of greeting, here, through the Barings, she probably will send me a line—describing you, as she left you— when she arrives in Italy.—We are having the first cold of the winter Mrs. Duncan Stewart is dead. But the cold is bright wholesome Mrs. Stewart had become a kind of talking melancholy ghost. She was a charming old being, however, I shall miss her much. Some day I shall put her into a book. I have already seen Mrs. Kemble find her constantly a little more a little more broken , as it were, indented. I shall never put her into a bo book.—Salvini made his 1st appearance here, last night, in othello, I went to see him; but to my surprise distress, he gave all the climax of the play much less finely than when I saw him a year ago in Boston, I was proportionately taken aback, having puffed him so to some of my friends who were there. It was as if he had toned it down weakened it deliberately, I don’t understand the mystery. I shall try see him, inquire.——A note just comes in from William, accompanying some papers for me to sign in which he speaks, definitely, of your going to N. Y. on the 2 14th. I hope Mary will be an efficient ( effective) soubrette. I don’t think I have any news that will interest you. Miss Motley, (a supposedly hopeless old maid, plain not moneyed) is to marry Colonel Mildmay. There is a sign of cheer for you—having the advantages that she lacks. Mrs. Lombard was still seriously ill when I left Paris, I took upon myself to write to her son. She ought to come home unless she has some one with her more powerful than Fanny.—I hear every now then from Carrie, but it is difficult to write to her, for want of topics. But I do what I can. I shall send this to A. K., to give you. Bob’s quietude seems almost too good to be true. Ever your affectionate Henry.
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47.11 between • [n malformed]
47.17 detriment • detri= | ment
47.27–28 your going intending to go • [intending careted above your; to go careted above going]
48.9 seen • [n malformed]
48.11 bo book • [b overwrites bo]
48.12 surprise • sur= | prise
48.14 saw • [sa overwrites illegible letters]
48.16 weakened • [n malformed]
48.17 understand • under- | stand
48.18 —— • — | —
48.30–31 Bob’s quietude [. . .] Henry. • [written across the letter’s first
page]
47.13 I wrote you last • See HJ to AJ, 5 February [1884] (pp. 9–11).
47.24 Mme Viardot • Pauline Viardot-G arcia (1821–1910), a French opera singer with Spanish ancestry. Her close relationship with Turgenev resulted in the author’s living near and sometimes with her and her husband, Louis (1800–1883).
47.26 her children • Louis and Pauline Viardot-G arcia had four chil-
dren: Louise Héritte (1841–1918), Claudie (1852–1914), Marianne (b. 1854), and Paul (1857–1941).
47.28 an electrician • Dr. William B. Neftel.
47.32 Catherine • Katharine Peabody Loring.
48.5 Mrs. Duncan Stewart is dead • Harriet Everilda Gore Stewart
(1797–1884), London hostess and mother of Christina Rogerson, died on 16 February 1884.
48.8 Some day I shall put her into a book • HJ’s character of Lady
Davenant from “A London Life” was based on Harriet Everelda Gore Stewart (Complete Notebooks 38).
48.9 Mrs. Kemble • Fanny Kemble (1809–93) was a member of the
Kemble family of famous British actors and a noted actress in her own
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The Complete Letters of Henry James right. She married Pierce Butler in 1834 and divorced him in 1848. HJ met Kemble and her daughter, Sarah Butler Wister, in Rome in 1872 and became close friends with both of them.
48.11–12 Salvini made his 1st appearance here, last night, in othello •
Tommaso Salvini debuted his performance in Othello at the Covent Garden Theatre on 28 February 1884.
48.22–23 Miss Motley [. . .] is to marry Colonel Mildmay • Susan Mar-
garet Stackpole Motley (1848–1918), daughter of John Motley (1814–77), married Lt. Col. Herbert Alexander St. John Mildmay (1836–1922) in April 1884.
48.28 Carrie • Caroline “Carrie” James (1851–1931), widow of GWJ.
48.30 Bob’s • RJ.
theodore e. child 29 February [1884] ALS University of Virginia Library Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature, Special Collections, Papers of Henry James, MSS 6251-c, box 2, folder 1 20
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3 Bolton St. Piccadilly Feb. 29th Dear Child. I had to leave Paris, after all, without looking in at your house of call bidding you good-bye. Every moment was taken, up to the last. Farewell, therefore, till we meet again. I have a charming impression of my month in Paris— London seems, for the moment, like a collection of wigwams, with smoke curling out of the top. The smoke is in season, though, for the weather is hyperborean. I had a charming day on the Channel, on Wednesday, , taking up the thread of London life that evening, could scarcely believe that I had breakfasted among the frivolous French. It is absurd, the transition. Continue to see as much as possible of ces messieurs, in order to tell me about them 50
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when I see you next. Take notes for me too. Tell Daudet (if the chance comes up) that I love him, tout cochon qu’on l’accuse de l’être. I thank you again, heartily, for your friendly services là-bas, am ever, faithfully yours Henry James Feb. 29th P.S. to my letter of just now.—I shall send you that article about Turgenieff as soon as I can get one from the agents here. I find I have given every copy I had, away. And apropos of this I wonder whether (, at your leisure—any time the next six months,) you can do me a small favour. The thing was crowded out of my memory while I was in Paris; I don’t know why. It is simply to try put your hand on the small vol. of Tourguéneff published in Hachette’s little red-covered library of translated novels (at one franc) entitled Scènes de la Vie Russe. My bookseller here tells me it is out of print; but it is still advertised as en vente (apparently) on the fly=leaf of the other work of Tourgenieff’s in the same series—the Memoires d’un Seigneur Russe. Don’t bother about it at all; for I think I have the vol. in America. Only make a little note of it, as you make so many little notes. Yours ever H. James No previous publication
51.10 , • [, overwrites .]
51.2–3 tout cochon qu’on l’accuse de l’être • even though they accuse
him of being a pig.
51.4 là-bas • there.
51.7–8 article about Turgenieff • “Ivan Turgénieff.”
51.15 Scènes de la Vie Russe • There was no Hachette edition of Scènes de la vie russe published after 1858.
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The Complete Letters of Henry James 51.16 en vente • for sale. 51.18 Memoires d’un Seigneur Russe • Mémoires d’un seigneur russe (1883).
william james 3 March [1884] ALS Houghton bMS Am 1094 (2011) 10
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3 Bolton St W. March 3d Dear William. I send you back the three deeds, duly acknowdged before the U. S. Consul this a.m., the Covenant duly signed. If you will send the remaining document I will attend to it promptly.—I send the Deeds in another envelope from this, so that you may be notified in case of loss. I am afraid there will be considerable lawyer’s fees (a new batch) to be paid for all this work, beg you let me know without fail or delay what my share of them is. I trust that all your bother which must at times have sat heavy on you, with regard to this whole matter of the division is now at an end. That of the administration of the estate s still abides with you; I can only do my best not to trouble you as far as I am concerned. Do what seems best for yourself the others, you have my assent in advance.—I came back from Paris 5 days ago, after a stay of about 4 weeks, from which I derived, as I always do in Paris, many impressions. There is so much I like there that I sometimes feel it a pity that I don’t like it enough to live there altogether. This however I could not, as the case stands, abide to do. So I must content myself with liking London as much as I do like it, raging against British density in my hours of irritation disgust. A glimpse of the intellectual life of some of the 52
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men I saw there (Daudet his lot c,) renews my sense of the Philistinism of this milieu the degree to which an “artist” is alone in it. The delicacy of mind of those Frenchmen carries one away, it is hard to decline, afterwards, upon London talk. But I might be worse off. I hope your Alice is by this time quite on foot again that the babe develops an individuality. Tender love to both. I send you the 2 books of father’s—2 vols. of one. And return a letter of Carrie’s I culpuably forgot, a fortnight since. Ever your Henry. Previous publication: CWJ 1: 375–76
52.14 acknowdged • [misspelled]
52.26 • [ overwrites illegible letter]
52.27 came • [m malformed]
53.8 culpuably • [misspelled]
53.8 forgot • for | got
52.14 three deeds • Likely the deeds to the three Syracuse, New York,
properties that were part of Sr.’s estate; ownership and rental divedends were transferred to WJ, HJ, RJ, and GWJ (see also HJ to WJ, 11 January [1883], CLHJ, 1883–1884 1: 17).
52.23–24 the administration of the estate [. . .] still abides with
you • After HJ returned to London in August 1883, WJ handled all of Sr.’s estate-related matters (see also WJ to HJ, 1 August 1883, CWJ 1: 368; HJ to W J, 17 August [1883], CLHJ, 1883–1884 1: 206).
53.5 Your Alice • AHGJ.
53.6 The babe • Herman James.
53.7 books of father’s—2 vols. of one • It’s not clear to which books HJ
refers.
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thomas sergeant perry 6 March [1884] ALS Colby College Special Collections, Waterville, Maine 5
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3 Bolton St. W. March 6th ———— My dear Tommy. You hit me in a my weakest point when you ask me why I never thanked you, or rather your wife, for the pretty little white yellow book which reached me many weeks ago. To say that no sun has risen since then without my declaring that I should write to Mrs. Perry before it went down is to express but feebly my constant determination. You see the sun goes down so early in these winter months, in this darksome London one scarcely knows whether or no it has ar risen. On many days, of late, it has not risen at all. Then the procrastinating, though talented Henry is ever the same. Letters that have pressed have had to go first, all the time I have seen your wifes reproachful though gentle, eyes fixed upon me from the depths of her horizontal chair. I seem to see them now—now that your letter cuts in I suffer it to divert me into addressing you rather than herself. But everything I write is for both of you, I thank you both for the graceful volume, which put the great prose-poet so perfectly à ma portée. The translations are most happy, you have rendered an appreciable service to the memory of the incomparable author. Today, at least, I don’t delay, inasmuch as your letter came in only last night, the early morn (or what we call such here) finds me pen in hand. I got a letter from Howells a fortnight ago in which he told me (as a matter of satisfaction) that you had got a “whole encyclopedia to write.” This, however, is a detail which you apparently don’t think worth mentioning; though I wish very much, if the statement be exact, you had told me what you are doing how you are doing it. I shld. not think it a task to rejoice in; but you are made of sterner stuff, 54
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I trust the occupation (if you really have an important task) is as remunerative as it is arduous. I am very glad of what you tell me of Howells’s new novel, shall fall upon it as soon it peeps out. No, my dear Tom, I am not suffering the Scrapings of the 18ième Siècle to destroy within me the instinct of the fictionist. I am engaged to write (that, is, to publish two novels “serials” next year—one of six months’, the other of a year’s duration. So I have work cut out, so have you, if you read me. These are to be the best things I have done, the former a remorseless exploitation of Boston. Look out, in Marlborough St; I am especially hard on the far end. Lately I have been doing some short things which you will see in due time—in the Century, eke three or four in (horresco referens!) the New York Sunday Sun! This last item by the way, is for the present, till the things appear, a profound secret. That journal has bribed me with gold—it is a case of gold pure simple; moreover the reasons against my offering exposing myself in it do not seem to me serious. Meanwhile, tace.—I have just been spending a month in Paris, ▬ where things interest me always till they suddenly begin to bore me pull upon me. What is being done in France affects me in all kinds of different ways—at times I am tired to death of it. Perfection, dirt, ignorance are all mixed up together. However, je trouve à peine à qui parler here (I mean as to “artistic” things,) when I look to the land you live in, I find “To Leeward” in its 12th edition, the Breadwinners (the cleverness of which I don’t contest) making a revolution, the journals earnestly discussing Newport. Je suis bien seul! It’s a filthy world, if you wish to know some of the thoughts that arise in me, read G. Flaubert’s letters to Mme Sand. Your questions as to whether I have read this that always give me the sense of the greater time, energy appetite you have in such matters. I extract from London life a good deal more time to read than I used to; but I find myself overwhelmed suffocated with books. They arrive in great billows form a horrible 55
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conspiracy against those who wish to deal with life directly invent their own forms of expression. I echo the tragic cry of Daudet (the dearest little man in the world) which he made to me the other day—“Nous périssons par les livres—ils nous débordent, ils nous étouffent, ils nous tuent!” Nevertheless I read all I can. Try Emile Bourget’s Psychologie Contemporaine if you haven’t already done so. It is really almost brilliant. Zola’s last, La joie de Vivre, seems to me distinctly to show signs of fatigue over-production. It is made, it didn’t grow, as how could it, poor thing? I don’t pretend to keep up with the contents of the German reviews haven’t seen the articles on Tgff. you speak of. Give my love to your wife accept my the affectionate remembrances of yours always H. James Previous publication: Harlow 315–16
54.24 translations • trans- | lations
54.26 incomparable • in= | comparable
55.1 occupation • occu- | pation
55.1 ( • [( overwrites ,]
55.2 remunerative • remun- | erative
55.26 cleverness • clever- | ness
55.29 Mme • [M malformed]
55.33 myself • mys- | elf
54.9–10 white and yellow book • Lilla Cabot Perry’s translation of
Turgenev’s Poems in Prose.
54.23 the graceful volume • That is, Poems in Prose.
54.24 à ma portée • within my reach.
55.3 Howells’s new novel • The Rise of Silas Lapham.
55.6 two [. . .] “serials” • The Bostonians and The Princess
Casamassima.
55.13 horresco referens! • shudder to report!
55.18 tace • be quiet.
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55.23 je trouve à peine à qui parler • I find hardly anyone to speak to.
55.25 Breadwinners • John Hay’s The Bread-Winners: A Social Study. 55.27 Newport • George Parson Lathrop’s Newport.
55.27 Je suis bien seul! • I am fine being on my own!
55.29 read G. Flaubert’s letters to Mme Sand • Lettres de Gustave Flau-
bert à George Sand.
56.4–5 “Nous périssons par les livres—ils nous débordent, ils nous
étouffent, ils nous tuent!” • We are perishing from the books—they are overwhelming us, they are smothering us, they are killing us!
56.6 Paul Bourget’s Psychologie Contemporaine • Essais de psychologie
contemporaine: Baudelaire—M. Renan—Flaubert—M. Taine—Stendhal.
56.7–8 Zola’s last, La joie de Vivre • La joie de vivre.
theodore e. child
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3 Bolton St. W. March 8th Dear Child. I thank you cordially for your letter the various primeurs you enclose. Goncourt’s preface I immediately return, no other human eye having beheld it. It is interesting, I agree with much of it. But there is something indefinably disagreeable to me in what that man writes something hard irritated, not sympathetic. Why also shld. the note of egotism, of vanity, of the claims he makes for himself, be condemned to sound in every Frenchman’s utterance, sooner or later? However, I am for the roman d’analyse, sans intrigue sans ficelle, tout qu’il voudra, also, for Dieu sait! for writing exquisitely resisting reportage. And why the devil will he make us wait twenty years 57
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for those wonderful Memoirs!— 3 20 years after his death too. In your place, with your opportunities, I should srp secretly poison him tomorrow, so that the 20 years may commence to run. Mlle. Tantale must be a sweet thing, I confess there are moments when such emanations seem to me to sound the glas of a literature. Nevertheless, I am sorry that the divine Daudet is going to virtuefy his souillon. Puis que souillon il y a, I shld. say let her be a real one. The said Daudet, however, cannot put three words together that I don’t more or less adore them. I enter into your divided feelings about Paris—though fortunately, for myself, I have worked into quiet waters; I find life possible in London (on condition of swearing at it) the ideally arranged existence (by the year) for me would be 5 mos. of London, 5 of Italy (mainly Rome), a month for Paris a month for the imprévu. I have settled down again into this Indian village, the matutinal tea toast, the British coal-scuttle, the dark back-bedroom, the dim front sitting-room, the Times, the hansom cab, the London dinner, the extension of the franchise, partagent my existence. This place is hideously political, there don’t seem to me to be three people in it who care for questions of art, or form, or taste. I am lonely speechless. Everything around me is woolly, stuffy, literal, unspeakably Philistine. I went, however, to see Salvini last night, he is the greatest of the great. Stick to your bright little Parisian 5ième, to the light easy civilization of the Gauls. Don’t rashly make an exchange which is like declining refusing a riz de veau à la jardinière for a dish of tripe onions! Yours ever, cynically, Henry James Previous publication: HJL 3: 36–37; Horne 155–56
57.33 for • [f overwrites ,]
58.1 Memoirs • [second m malformed]
58.1 3 20 • [2 overwrites 3]
58.11 myself • my- | self
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58.13 existence • exis- | tence
58.19 unspeakably • un- | speakably
57.24 primeurs • news items.
57.25 Goncourt’s preface • Probably the preface to Chérie, which was
published alone in Le Figaro on 17 April 1884. The novel itself was serialized without the preface from 11 March to 17 April in Gil Blas (Ashley 62; Horne 155).
57.32–33 roman d’analyse, sans intrigue sans ficelle, tout qu’il vou-
dra • the novel of analysis, without plot without tricks, as much as he could wish (Horne 628).
57.33 Dieu sait! • God knows!
58.1 Memoirs • Goncourt’s journals, excerpts of which would be pub-
lished in 1888, the year of HJ’s review, “The Journal of the Brothers Goncourt.” 58.4 Mlle. Tantale • An 1884 novel by Jean-Louis Dubut de Lafo rest depicting a female protagonist who engages in homosexual relationships after reading L’historie de Sapho. See Sharon Larson, who wrote that “Dubut aimed to facilitate the collaboration between literature and science with the common goal of studying, understanding, and finally containing sexual pathology. Many of his works earned him the sensationalist reputation—and fame—of pornographer in the late nineteenth century (his 1885 novel Le Gaga landed him in jail for outrage aux bonnes mœurs)” (95). 58.5 glas • death knell.
58.7 souillon • woman of dubious morality.
58.7 Puis que souillon il y a • Since there are loose women out there.
58.15 imprévu • unexpected.
58.19 partagent • split up.
58.23 see Salvini last night • Italian actor Tommaso Salvini (1829–1915)
performed in Giacometti’s La morte civile at Covent Garden on 7 March 1884.
58.24 Parisian 5ième • District of Paris containing the Latin Quarter.
58.26 a riz de veau à la jardinière • Sweetbreads with peas and carrots.
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florence wilkinson mathews 9 March [1884] ALS University of Virginia Library Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature, Special 5
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3 Bolton St. W. March 9th My dear Florence. I found your kind letter a week ago, on my return from Paris— am very sorry to have missed you in London. I found a considerable correspondence awaiting me, or I shld. have sent you a word sooner. And I have delayed partly, to tell the truth, because it costs me so much to say, in return for your hospitable invitation, that I greatly fear there can be no going out of town for me at Easter this year. I must stick fast to a lot of work that I have undertaken, the festive Eastertide, which produces a week’s silence in London is doubly valuable to me in town for that reason. I shouldn’t be able to give you—or rather myself—more than a Sunday, I hope you won’t think me cynical if I say that Pontrilas is a little remote for so momentary a perch, pleasant as the perching would be.—If your sister Mary had not the vicious habit of leaving town for Sunday, I should have the pleasure of seeing her to-day; but I have designs on her for the midst of the week. I am glad to hear of the embellishments of Pontrilas—complete as that establishment appears in my memory. I don’t despair of seeing them at some easier hour, am meanwhile, with kind regards to your husband, very faithfully yours Henry James No previous publication
60.26 embellishments • embellish- | ments
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60.1 Florence Wilkinson Mathews • Mathews (1842–1923) was the daughter of Dr. James John Garth Wilkinson (1812–99) and Emma Wilkinson, longtime friends of the James family. She married Benjamin St. John Attwood-Mathews (c. 1831–1903) in 1860.
60.21 Pontrilas • Florence and St. John Attwood-Mathews’s home,
Pontrilas Court, was built c. 1630 less than a mile from the Welsh border (Pevsner 272).
60.22–23 your sister Mary • Mary James Wilkinson Mathews (1846–
1944), daughter of James family friends Emma Wilkinson and Dr. James John Garth Wilkinson, was MWJ’s goddaughter and namesake. She married Francis Cloughton Mathews (1842–1943) in 1871.
mary morton hartpence sands
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9 March [1884] ALS Tate 9125.6.9 (204)
3 Bolton St. W. March 9th Dear Mrs. Sands, I have an amiable note, of some days ago, to thank you for; shld. have done this before had I not hoped to hear at any moment that you are restored to the town that I might come obsequiate you, as the Italians say. (I dont mean attend your obsequies!) Let me earnestly recommend you to return, for London is brilliant balmy, the chariots of the great begin to roll over the wooden ways. Do add yours to the number, no matter if it passes over your prostrate admirers. Salvini is likewise playing, he is a theatrical joy. He is too fine even to praise.—There are all sorts of parties (to which I don’t go,) the house of Rosebery is making its door to creak. I have 61
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been to Paris for a month. I liked it for ten days, endured it for ten, hated for ten ten. As the month was Feb., there is a day to miss. It is true that London, on my return, seemed a collection of smoky wigwams, adorned with lumpish furniture; but I flourish in the fumes, the lumps are comfortable— round, well-stuffed lumps. Mrs. Morton fled at my approach retired to Cannes Monte-Carlo. Receive, dear Mrs. Sands, the assurance of the lively impatience with which I have the honour to be very expectantly yours Henry James No previous publication
62.2–3 As the month was Feb., there is a day to miss. • [the position
of the insertion is indicated in the manuscript by an x and another x precedes the inserted material written across the top of the letter’s fourth page]
62.6 Mrs. Morton • Anna Livingston Reade Street Morton (1846–
1918), second wife (m. 1873) of future vice president Levi P. Morton (1824–1920) under President Benjamin Harrison. Mary Morton Hartpence and Mahlon Sands were married at Morton’s Newport home in 1872. At the time of this letter, Levi Morton was the American minister to France (1881–85) and lived in Paris.
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benjamin holt ticknor 10 March [1884] ALS Yale University Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library YCAL MSS 830
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3 Bolton St. W. March 10th Dear Mr. Ticknor. I have delayed a few days to answer your note of the 25th: being bothered about a name for the vol. of tales. I had much rather not call it “Impressions” c; and I think that “Tales of Three Cities” will do very well—the three cities being New York, London, Boston, the three cities mention there being considerable reference to the places in the stories. This will probably be judged fairly “attractive”, though I shall be accused of cribbing it from Dickens.—Let me add that there are two or three other small alterations to be made in the text. On p. 124, line 15, intuitions should be intentions (I don’t mean Italicised.) On p. 232, 16th line, photographers should be photographs. On p. 198, 8th line from bottom, the last words should read: .....that one—) on meeting, c Instead of the stop the On beginning a new sentence, it closes the old.—These are the most urgent corrections. Yours very truly Henry James P.S. Mr. Ogood’s note comes in telling me he has written to the American Exchange people to send me $500. Their cheque will doubtless promptly follow. Many thanks ————
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63.11 vol. of tales • This volume became Tales of Three Cities.
63.29 send me $500 • In payment for “A New England Winter”
(Anesko, “Friction” 189).
edwin austin abbey and alfred parsons 14 March [1884] 10
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Henry James begs to excuse himself to Messrs. E. A Abbey Alfred Parsons for his accidentally accidental delay in accepting (delightedly) their invitation to dine at the Continental on Thursday March April 3d. 3 Bolton St. W. March 14th ———— Previous publication: CLQ 34
64.13 accidentally accidental • [l overwrites lly]
64.8 edwin austin abbey • Abbey (1852–1911) was an American painter and illustrator. 64.8 Alfred Parsons • Parsons (1847–1920) was an English painter, an illustrator, a garden designer, and later a close friend of HJ. He designed the sets for Guy Domville (Tucker 222n11) and in November 1897 laid out the garden at HJ’s Lamb House (Hyde 40, 82).
64.14 Continental • The Hotel Continental, 1 Regent Street, London.
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george du maurier 18 March [1884] ALS Houghton bMS Am 1094 (638) 5
3 Bolton St. W. March 18th My dear Du Maurier. I just receive your honorific note. I shall be delighted to come up and on Sunday at about 11.30 let you do anything you please with my head, except punch it. The am amiability of your designs upon it causes me a flutter of mingled pride modesty; I hang the head which you propose to exalt.—I have been meditating a pilgrimage to your hill-top any one of these next days—but Sunday makes it definite.—Of the time that has elapsed since I saw you last I have passed a month in Paris: I will tell you of that. I thank you for again for your kind offer to make me if not beautiful, at least visible, forever, am always yours Henry James Previous publication: SL 1: 140–41
65.11 • [blotted out]
65.15 definite • defin- | ite
65.10–11 let you do anything you please with my head • Du Maurier
was drawing a series of sketches to be compiled into a group portrait of his friends (see also [29] March [1884]; misdated 20, to AJ, p. 78).
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3 Bolton St. Piccadilly March 19th 1884. ———— My dear Aldrich. I have had your note of Feb. 27th for a week, meaning every day to answer it; p but putting this off because I was a little embarrassed as to my last mode of doing so. The matter is after all, very simple, however— I will defer no longer, as I wish to get this off before the arrival of your second letter, which the above-mentioned leads me to expect. I am not surprised that £100 a number, during 12 months, for my novel strikes you as an exceptionally high price; it produces the same effect on myself, I must agree that I was inconsiderate to demand it; inasmuch as I do not believe—have no reason to believe—that I should receive it from an English periodical. To tell the truth, I had forgotten, till I received your letter, than in speaking of terms in mine from Paris, I had demanded it! This was not a deliberate mature proceeding, but comes back to me now as an off-hand and undigested proposal. I wrote back to you the same morning your letter came, if I had taken time to consider the question of price should have written differently. I had in mind the simple fact that for my last long novel I received £100 a number, that I must not receive less for a prospective one; but I did not sufficiently weigh the circumstance that the said £100 came to me from two different magazines (Macmillan as well as the Atlantic. I tell you all this in order that I may not appear to have been over-reaching, to have “two prices.” The proposal from Paris dropped from my pen as I wrote, I didn’t write afterwards to modify it simply 66
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because I had forgotten what I had said. My view of the matter now (that your letter brings my full attention to it) is still however that I ought to receive more for a novel to begin in 1885 (it’s only the shape of my eights) than I did, from the Atlantic, for the Portrait of a Lady. I shall be very well satisfied if you pay me at the same rate as for my various recent things. This, kept up for a year, may not suit you; but I ought to say that it is, this time, my deliberate digested estimate of the Princess. If it does not meat meet the ideas of the publishers, we will hang her up on her peg again.—I ought to add that I can’t undertake to handle her in less than about 25 pages at a time.—Does all this suit you, suit Messrs Houghton Mifflin? You will tell me at your convenience.—I should like to be able to keep up the standard of £100 if it would (as you say,) operate to bring you out. But apparently I must see you on cheaper terms! Let them not, however, be too ruinous to yours always Henry James Previous publication: HJL 3: 37–38
66.12 embarrassed • embar- | rassed
66.20 receive • re- | ceive
66.27 differently • differ- | ently
66.32 over-reaching • over- | reaching
67.10 her • [h overwrites illegible letter]
67.10 undertake • under- | take
67.13 convenience • con- | venience
66.16–17 £100 a number [. . .] my novel • See 13 February [1884] to
Aldrich, in which HJ asks for “$500 a number for the successive instalments of [. . .] The Princess Casamassima” (p. 22).
66.25 I wrote back to you • HJ to Thomas Bailey Aldrich, 13 February
[1884] (pp. 21–23).
66.27–28 my last long novel I received £100 a number • The Portrait
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theodore e. child 19 March [1884] ALS University of Virginia Library Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature, Special 10
Collections, Papers of Henry James, MSS 6251-c, box 8, folder 30
3 Bolton St. W. March 19th My dear Childe. 15
Your dosimetric card entertains me much, I much greatly obliged both to yourself to the childlike birdlike Alphonse. Please remercier bien tendrement the latter for his prescription, at which I am happy to say I can aff[or]d to smile. My health, at my present age, is better than it has been at any
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previous period of my life, the sparkling Janos, which I know all about, plays the devil with my modest insides. But I don’t thank Daudet none the less, am almost capable of drinking a glass every morning, at any cost, because he likes it. I wish you had told me more of what had passed at your interview;
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my appetite for his happy words is inexhaustible. You might mention to him the next time I you see him that I have mentioned to you that the Editor of the Century has written to me a request to write to him (do you follow?) to accelerate the production of the promised essays; but that I—out of tact,
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good taste, humanity even the predicity which he so justly credits me with, have declined to do anything of the sort. Ask him to like me the better for this—charmed as I am to translate him when he arrives.—The splendour of Paris? Je veux bien. 68
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But that of London, donc! Skies of June, zephyrs of Eden: not Eden-Theatre! Yours ever H. James No previous publication
68.16 yourself • your- | self
68.18 aff[or]d • [manuscript damaged]
68.30 predicity • [misspelled]
68.7 19 March [1884] • The year of this letter was established through
the following: Scribner’s Monthly became the Century Magazine in 1881. HJ’s reference to “the Editor of the Century,” then, places the letter after the establishment of the Century. The only years after the Century began publication during which HJ was living at 3 Bolton Street were 1884 and 1885. HJ mentions the “splendour of Paris” (p. 68), alluding to his recent visit, which, in 1884, occurred in February. Because he made no recent Paris visit in March 1885, 1884 is the best year for this letter.
68.15 dosimetric card • A card that describes appropriate medical
doses, probably relating to the Hunyadi János below.
68.17 Alphonse • Alphonse Daudet.
68.17 remercier bien tendrement • fondly thank.
68.20 sparkling Janos • Probably Hunyadi János, a mineral water from
Hungary used to treat gastrointestinal ailments.
68.27 Editor of the Century • Richard Watson Gilder (1844–1909),
poet and biographer, assistant editor of Scribner’s Monthly (1870–81), and editor of the Century Magazine (1881–1909).
68.29 the promised essays • Possibly including Daudet’s “Mistral.”
68.33 Je veux bien • I am in agreement with that.
69.1 donc! • well!
69.1 Skies of June, zephyrs of Eden • See Milton, Paradise Lost: Under a tuft of shade that on a green Stood whispering soft, by a fresh Fountain side They sat them down, and after no more toil Of thir sweet Gardning labour then suffic’d
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The Complete Letters of Henry James To recommend coole Zephyr, and made ease More easie, wholesom thirst and appetite More grateful, to thir Supper Fruits they fell, Nectarine Fruits which the compliant boughs Yielded them, side-long as they sat recline On the soft downy Bank damaskt with flours. (book 4, lines 325–34, p. 452)
69.2 Eden-Theatre • The Eden-Théâtre, 7 rue Boudreau, Paris, which
opened on 1 January 1883.
charles scribner’s sons 21 March [1884] ALS Archives of Charles Scribner’s Sons, Manuscripts Division, 15
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3 Bolton St. Piccadilly March 21.st ———— Messrs. Ch. Scribner’s Sons. Dear Sirs. I sent you yesterday the copy for a A Light Man—the old story you asked me for some time since; but I am afraid it was stupidly—inadvertently—dropped into the post without stamps. It will go, but when it reaches you you will have to pay double postage. I write this line by way of apology notification. Yours very truly Henry James
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United States ———— Messrs. Ch. Scribner’s Sons. ———— 4 743 745 Broadway New York. U. S. A.
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[Postmarks:] LON[DO]N • S.W X MR21 84[;] LONDON • S.W X MR21 84 [Partially legible postmark:] [LONDON] • S.W X MR21 84 SW 44
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70.24 a A • [A overwrites a] 71.6 4 743 • [7 overwrites 4]
70.24 A Light Man • HJ revised his 1869 “A Light Man” for publication in volume 5 of Charles Scribner’s Sons’ Stories by American Authors.
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March 22d. ———— Dear William. I have had two or three missives enclosures from you of late (letters fr. A. K., Alice, Aunt Mary Tweedy c. As regards 71
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the last—telling of Temple Emmets’ death—it has inspired me to write immediately to poor little tragically-situated Elly— of which I am very glad.) Alice wrote to me, at considerable length—while she was in New York, whether or no her Russian quack has done her any good, I quite agree with you that she “has spirit enough to survive anything.” Yesterday comes from you the letter about J. La Farge’s portrait of me, with your P.S. As regards the portrait I regret that “the family” should’nt possess it—but it can’t be helped. If I had been at home I might have been able to buy it myself; but after this delay I fear it is too late. I shall perhaps, however, yet write to Stickney on the chance of its still being in his hands. For your lecture on the subject of your my misplaced charities I am very much obliged; those homilies are always useful suggestive. What you tell me about Carrie’s means is much to the point—it is precisely what I wanted to know. I have said nothing to her about any intention about of making up the $2500, given her no reason to count upon me for the future. Wilkie she, between them have had fo from me during the last year—or since January 1883—I shld think, about $1500; I shall not send her anything more for the present. The next money I am irresistibly impelled to send to Milwaukee shall go to Bob; the trouble is however that Bob will scarcely accept—it is a great job to make him. I am far more thoughtful of the future than you appear to give me credit for: for the present, however, n’en parlons plus. I am afraid I have no news at all. I am very busy—very decently well— this moment much hurried. Ever yours H James Previous publication: CWJ 1: 376–77
71.33 enclosures • en- | closures
72.1 inspired • in- | spired
72.2 immediately • im- | mediately
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72.3 considerable • con= | siderable
72.6 Yesterday • Yester- | day
72.7 portrait • por- | trait
72.11 perhaps • per- | haps
72.13 misplaced • mis- | placed
72.19 fo from • [r overwrites o]
72.20 anything • any- | thing
72.21 irresistibly • irre- | sistibly
72.1 Temple Emmet’s death • Christopher Temple Emmet (1822–84)
died near Green River, Wyoming, on 26 February. Emmet was the husband of HJ’s cousin Ellen “Elly” Temple (1850–1920).
72.2 tragically-situated Elly • Ellen “Elly” Temple (1850–1920), HJ’s
cousin and sister of Minnie Temple. After Christopher Temple Emmet’s death, Elly was left “desolate and with no appreciable means for raising four young daughters” (Rand 13).
72.5 Russian quack • Dr. William B. Neftel.
72.7 J. La Farge’s portrait of me • The 1862 portrait Henry James,
by John La Farge (Century Association, New York City).
72.11 Stickney • Albert Stickney (1843–1908), politician and lawyer.
He was John La Farge’s attorney and owned many of La Farge’s paintings.
72.13 my misplaced charities • Likely a reference to HJ’s letter of
20 February [1884] to WJ, in which HJ wrote that he “sent off $105 to Carrie” (p. 26) to help pay GWJ’s debts. WJ had a tense relationship with Carrie James, especially concerning the distribution of Sr.’s estate (Maher 165–68). 72.25 n’en parlons plus • let us say nothing more about it.
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william james 26 March [1884] ALS Houghton bMS Am 1094 (2013) 5
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3 Bolton St W. March 26th My dear William. I wrote to you a few days ago, but since then I have another missive from you; enclosing a couple of notes from A. K., another one from Stickney about the La Farge portrait. I must let this pass, as I haven’t £60 now to expend upon it—especially as I don’t think it very valuable—as I recollect it;—though if I could I would buy it simply for the sake of auld lang syne. I enclose the £5 note I promised you the other day, to help you to meet the next demand from Josephine. You can easily get it changed the next time you go into State St.—I confess, also to gladness that your helpless babe is not for the (possibly) 80 years of his life to be made a Tweedy!—a cruel little label to tie to him for all the long future. I don’t like Hagen (it will eventually be pronounced Haygan mistaken for the Irish Hogan) much better. I hold in the matter of names to my dislike to the idea of giving children the whole names of others. If you one wishes to name a babe after a friend it seems to me enough to give it the friends Christian name—e.g. Edmund or Hermann. If I wished to gratify certain friends, I shld. name my child after each of them, as they do abroad—Edmund Hermann Francis. The first would be name he would go by (I put the above in any order) the two others would be dormant save when he signed his name in full—in legal documents c. They would however always be a part of him. Hermann James strikes me as a very pretty name: Hermann H. James (that it will virtually be) as no name at all. The second is so pretty that it is a pity to spoil it by the first. second. I repeat, too, that to give 74
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a child the surname of a strange family whom he has had had no contact with save the temporary relation of his progenitors to one member of it, is to saddle him with an awkward element of which he may easily feel the inanity in future years, especially if confronted with the family who rightfully bear it and who may view him with all kinds of obliquity. Such are my sentiments on the subject of names infant nomenclature—crudely hastily stated. If I ever I attach great importance to it— think the appellation of a child cannot be too much considered: it affects his life forever! I confess that I breathe a sigh of relief that we are not to have a “Tweedy” among us (Edmund James I think a very nice name,)—affiliated to all the rest of the Tweedy brood for after a upwards of a century after poor E. T. of Newport has descended to his rest. I rejoice too that our kind parents has didn’t make us (for the most part) William P.,’s̷ Henry W., Robertson F. urge you to follow their example!— The communications in regard to Alice in New York of course interest me much: I have a letter from her by the same post as yours. She appears to have such a long road to travel that I sometimes lose courage for her—but she doesn’t seem to lose it for herself, so long as she isn’t nervous I can think of her with some equanimity. But I fear your wife returns slowly to active life—I embrace her tenderly. Ever yours—Henry (P.) James Previous publication: CWJ 1: 377–78; WHSL 158–59
74.12 haven’t • have- | n’t
74.24 wishes • [es inserted]
74.27 • [blotted out]
74.31 Hermann • Her= | mann 75.1 surname • sur= | name
75.15 P.,’s̷ • [blotted out; , inserted]
75.18 interest • in- | terest
75.20 doesn’t • [n malformed]
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74.9 I wrote to you a few days ago • HJ to WJ, 22 March [1884] (pp.
71–72).
74.16 Josephine • Josephine James.
74.19 Tweedy • WJ and AHGJ considered naming their son Tweedy
“after their Newport relations” (Gunter, Alice 79), Mary Temple and Edmund Tweedy.
75.16 follow their example • WJ, HJ, and RJ did not have middle
names.
alice james [29] March [1884]; misdated 20 ALS Houghton 15
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3 Bolton St. W March 20th My dear Sister. I think I have two letters from you since I last wrote. Whether or no at any rate my own last preceded my your first letter from N. Y. your second came in but a few days ago (of the date of March 12th) I am very sorry your progress in the hands of Neftel has been arrested; but I hope— indeed infer from the tone of your letter—that even as allowing for this you will not feel that you have wasted your time or squandered your substance in New York. You will have done a valiant enterprising thing in going there which I am sure will have brought a reward. By this time you are probably back in Boston, a good deal occupied in missing K. P. L., from whom—at Granada—I heard a few days since. You will of course be getting constant letters from her, know what she is seeing doing. I don’t like to think of the void which her absence will leave in your existence am afraid you are often much concerned 76
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for the want of her. But I know not what consolation to offer you—except that you will enjoy her society the more when she returns. I am sorry poor A. K. was laid up so much of the time that you were near her— hope that the apparent increase in of bad colds c. of from which she appears lately to have suffered does not foreshadow in any degree a decline of her lifelong robustness. I can think of her as old——but I can’t think of her as ever feeble, I trust she may not live to be so. Of the various “cousins” your impressions were doubtless thrilling; but I am afraid they would evaporate in transmission to London.—I w have written to William on the subject of his child’s name breathe frel more freely since hearing that E. Tweedy is not to be its portion for life. He announced “Hermann Hagen” to me as definitely chosen— I have told him that I like the Hermann, but d detest the Hagen. “Herman James” is a very pretty name, fortunately; but I hope the child is not to be Hermann H. James. Moreover, I go in for children’s having names of their own— not family- names of people whom their fathers have happened to know in their (the babes’) infancy. Apropos of Tweedy c—how tragical is the manner of Temple Emmet’s death. It struck me as so dreadful (partly from the recollection of my journey last winter to Milwaukee—the impression of the train c, as a place to meet such an event) that I immediately wrote to poor Elly, who must be a valiant little woman.—Mrs. Stanley Clarke—apropos of the same “connection”—leaves London soon for a six months residence at Bonn, on the Rhine, to teach her children German, I suspect economise, c. She is determined they shall be well brought up, possess such accomplishments as may conduce to their success in life is not afraid to bore herself for the purpose. Sir John, I believe, recovers his equanimity. The Duke of Albany’s death makes a tiresome palaver here, stops off parties c, for the moment. He was, I believe, an amiable but somewhat priggish prince, who had uncomfortable maladies— 77
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not his proper allowance of skins, bleeding of his knee-joints c, was considered “literary” in the most illiterate family in the kingdom. I don’t know what other London news to impart to you. Salvini has been here a month received with incredible stupidity coldness, while Mary Anderson plays to crammed houses makes her fortune. I wrote an article on him in the Pall Mall. I called on her Mary the other day—having met her 2 or 3 times found her the quintessence of the Louisville beauty the horse-car. She is a good, frank, familiar creature, with a 3d rate face a handsome neck back; also a villainous Kentucky accent a crudity of culture which is embarrassing, before others, to a compatriot. But you have to engage seats for her three weeks ahead!—I sat on Sunday last to Du Maurier for my picture—that is he painted a small head of me into a composition which he is to send to one of the exhibitions, into which he is introducing several portraits of his friends. It struck me—the little face of me—as very good; but unfortunately it is not in my power to buy the picture. I am giving tomorrow a small dinner to four or five artists at the Reform Club, in honour of Sargent (the painter) who is come over for a few days from Paris, who is a very nice fellow, of exceeding talent. The Season here shows some signs of s̷ beginning, the phenomenal brightness continues (though with some nasty March cold,) I dine out more or less, though not, I am happy to say, with the tiresome inveteracy of some former years. The Roseberys are back, have asked me to the Durdans; but I was not able to go. M. Arnold, too, whom I have not yet seen, who relates tales of how he suffered in the U. S. from the want of wine. He means, however, to go again, believing he can make money on his own hook. This sounds incredible, but I have it on good authority.—I shall be very eager to hear from you on your return to Mt. V. Street—to know what you have gained how life presents itself. I dont see your summer very well; but have 78
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an idea that Katherine arranged it before she left. I have written to her twice. Ever your affectionate Henry. No previous publication
76.30 occupied • occu- | pied
77.1 consolation • conso- | lation
77.7 —— • — | —
77.11 w have • [h overwrites w]
77.13 announced • an- | nounced
77.22 recollection • re- | collection
77.24 ) • [) overwrites —]
77.24 immediately • imme- | diately
77.27 residence • resi- | dence
77.29 conduce • con- | duce
78.2 considered • con- | sidered
78.5 coldness • cold- | ness
78.8 Louisville • Louis- | ville
78.15 composition • composi- | tion
78.22 s̷ beginning • [b overwrites s]
76.13 [29] March [1884]; misdated 20 • Although HJ dated this letter as
March 20, it is not possible that that date is correct. First, HJ writes later in the letter that the “Duke of Albany’s death makes a tiresome palaver here” (p. 77). Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, died on the morning of 28 March. Also, HJ wrote that he was giving “tomorrow” (p. 78) a dinner at the Reform Club; that dinner took place on 30 March (see HJ to Grace Norton, 29, 31 March [1884], p. 83).
76.30–31 K. P. L. [. . .] Granada • Beginning in February 1884,
Katharine Peabody Loring accompanied her sister, Louisa Loring, to several places in Europe, including Switzerland, England, and Spain, seeking a cure for her chronic ill-health.
77.3 A. K. • Aunt Kate.
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77.11 written to William • See HJ to WJ, 20 February [1884] (p. 25–27)
and 26 March [1884] (pp. 74–75).
77.24 Elly • Ellen “Elly” Temple.
77.31 Sir John • Sir John Rose (1820–88), father of Mary Temple Rose
Clarke.
77.31–32 The Duke of Albany’s death • Prince Leopold, Duke of
Albany (1853–84), suffered from hemophilia. On 27 March 1884 he suffered a head injury and died the next morning, likely from a cerebral hemorrhage.
78.6–7 an article on him in the Pall Mall • “A Study of Salvini.”
78.13–14 Du Maurier for my picture • See 18 March [1884] to George
Du Maurier (p. 65).
78.19 a small dinner to four or five artists at the Reform Club • Among
the guests HJ hosted at the Reform Club was Edward Burne-Jones; see also 29, 31 March [1884] to Grace Norton (p. 83).
78.26 The Durdans • Lord Rosebery’s estate near Epsom, which he
purchased in 1872.
78.28–29 He means [. . .] to go again • Arnold did travel to the United
States in the summer of 1886, but not on a lecture tour.
78.32 Mt. V. Street • AJ resided at 131 Mount Vernon Street in
Boston.
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79.1 Katherine • Katharine Peabody Loring.
sir charles archer cook 29 March [1884] TLC Houghton bMS Am 1237.16, box 1
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3 Bolton St., W. March 29th Dear C. A. Cook, It wasn’t a bad dinner at all, it seems to me, and your paper is not at all a bad account of it. Thank you kindly for sending 80
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it to me—it recalls the bucolic little town which is not by the Rhone—and serves as an avertissement for the future. The next time I go to Orange I shall go hungry, and I shall insist too in talking to some one—perhaps even to the Colonel. Do you remember the way the English family from Algiers—or Spain, I think—chattered to us across the table at Arles, and how the natives stared? Every incident of that little tour is a theme of fond reminiscence to yours very truly Henry James.
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80.25 sir charles archer cook • Cook (1849–1934) was an English barrister and legal writer.
81.2 avertissement • warning.
grace norton 29, 31 March [1884] ALS Houghton
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3 Bolton St. W. March 28 29th ———— My dear Grace. Your appreciation of epistolary favours (as expressed in your charming letter of the 12th, received a day or two ago) is such as to make me feel that I ought to promise that this present letter should weigh fifty ounces at least. But I won’t make rash vows, for I have only half an hour before me in which to thank you for your news and all the pleasant comfortable things you say to me. Yes, my dear Grace, I can imagine every thing you leave me to imagine in regard to a letter from an old friend in London coming in upon one of your Cambridge 81
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evenings. It makes me wish I was were the letter myself— if you would tear me up afterwards let me return to the elements! I write this at the end of an in interrupted day— one of those accidentally invaded, perverted dissipated days which are liable to occur here in to even the best regulated votaries of routine, which leave you for all consolation the sense of having something to make up. What I have to make up is work—for I am accumulating valuable literary matter in the rear of publishers’ delays. I immediately looked for your remarks on R. G. W. in the Nation found them most felicitous forcible. What a genius for irritating vulgarity does that individual possess! how well attentively you read your divine Williams. I have just spent ten pounds on a new set of him, which is not R. G. W.’s! But if you would only push on your light pen of criticism you have a career bef before you. I scarcely know what to tell you about London save that the most beautiful winter on record here is turning into an apparently somewhat repentant spring, that the signs of the Season are already (socially speaking) tolerably numerous. The poor little Duke of Albany is dead, the newspapers are deluged with perfunctory floods—a thing to make one always regret here that certain high-born nobodies are not import immortal. The late prince was literary and priggish, I believe, admired the novels of Mr. James Payn, with whom I dined last night: did you ever read any?—I had heard of Theodora S.’s Sally’s coming out—through Mr. Mrs. Simon, whom I met somewhere who spoke of the prospect, I am bound to say, without apparent repulsion or terror. I enter, however, into your wonderments apprehensions, don’t recommend dear Sally to build too airy a structure upon the polished-surface of that fashionable icicle icicle Lady Reay,—who must just now be in very deep mourning for prince Leopold—a proof, after all, of a tender heart! She will be “civil” to Sally, however; not the quality, but the quantity, of her devotion is what I am not quite easy about! 82
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I have no doubt, however, that fortune will favour the two Cambridge maidens, you must remember, (as regards Sally at least,) how much American beauties are now the fashion here. I needn’t assure you how joyfully anything I can do for her— though what I can do I scarcely foresee!—will be done.—I had to break off day before yesterday, I snatch a hasty pen again on March 31st. What shall I go on to tell you? I have been having a day—or a couple of days—of rather superabundant activity on behalf of a friend of mine who is over for a week two from Paris,—John Sargent, the young Franco-American painter, who has a very great talent a very pleasant, in fact, charming, nature. He is much of a stranger in London I have been giving him a push to the best of my ability—as you will perceive when I tell you that on Saturday I went with him to the exhibition of Sir Joshua Reynolds (a most interesting thing) which has been open here for two months, took him to the National Gallery, dined him in the evening took him to the theatre; that yesterday, Sunday, I had him at lunch at 1.30, after that under my wing (with just an interval to dress for dinner) till midnight. I took him to 10 artists’ studios, to see the pictures just going to the exhibitions; at 8 o’clock entertained him at dinner at the Reform Club, where I had asked six men to meet him. Burne Jones was one of these— was in very good form, as they say here. Sargent is the nicest creature possible; but I shall now repose a little. One of the studios I we went to yesterday was Millais’s—another was Leighton’s; I was impressed, as usual, with the gorgeous effect of worldly prosperity success that both of these gentlemen present. I suppose it is the demon of envy—but I can’t help contrasting the great rewards of the successful painter, here, his glory honour generally, with the so much more modest emoluments of the man of letters. And the painters who wallow in gold are—some of them!—so shocking bad! Leighton in particular overwhelms me—his sumptuosity, his personal beauty, his 83
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cleverness, his gorgeous house, his universal attainments, his portraits of duchesses, his musical parties, his perfect French Italian— German—his general air of being above all human dangers difficulties! Burne Jones, by the way, spoke in a very friendly way about Sally’s coming to stay with them.—We have had Salvini here for a month, the British public has treated him most coldly stupidly. I enclose you a little protest of my own from the Pall Mall Gazette. I am very sorry for Eliot: I shouldn’t like to be Charles’s son! But I don’t know anything about the battle in the college over Greek over athletics. I am perfectly out of Cambridge now—not touching it much thro’ my brother. Through you—what do I touch? I don’t consider it “Cambridge”. You never mention Godkin now. Don’t you see him or hear from him? I hope you are not en froid. Don’t ever be so, my dear Grace, with your faithful old friend Henry James No previous publication
81.23 28 29th • [9 overwrites 8]
81.26 epistolary • epis- | tolary
82.1 myself • my- | self
82.6 consolation • conso- | lation
82.10 remarks • re= | marks
82.15 criticism • cri- | ticism
82.28 repulsion • repul= | sion
82.33 civil • [ first i inserted]
83.2 • [ overwrites ,]
83.13 perceive • per= | ceive
83.14 exhibition • ex- | hibition
83.21 8 o’clock • [HJ drew a mark to move the ’ from after the 8 to after
the o]
83.21 entertained • en- | tertained
84.2 musical • musi= | cal
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84.4 difficulties • dif= | ficulties
84.10 I • [I overwrites top part of : resulting in .]
84.13–15 You never mention [. . .] my dear Grace, with • [this portion of
the letter was heavily struck by someone other than HJ] 84.14–16 froid. Don’t [. . .] Henry James • [written across the letter’s first page]
82.9–10 your remarks on R. G. W. in the Nation • “The Riverside
Shakspere,” Grace Norton’s review of Richard Grant White’s three- volume edition of Shakespeare’s poems and plays.
82.23–24 the novels of Mr. James Payn • Popular and prolific English
novelist James Payn (1830–98), whose best-known work was the sensational By Proxy. Payn was also editor of Cornhill Magazine (1883–96).
82.25 Theodora S.’s Sally’s • Theodora Sedgwick (1851–1916), sis-
ter of Susan Norton, and Sara “Sally” Norton (1864–1922), daughter of Charles Eliot Norton. Sally sailed with Charles Eliot Norton to England in the summer of 1884; Theodora was already there.
82.26 Mr. Mrs. Simon • Sir John Simon (1816–1904), physician and
political reformer, and his wife, Lady Jane O’Meara Simon (1816–1901), London friends of Charles and Susan Norton.
82.31 Lady Reay • Fanny Georgina Jane Hasler Mitchell Mackay, Lady
Reay (c. 1831–1917), wife of Donald James Mackay, 11th Lord Reay and 1st Baron Reay (1829–1921).
83.23 Burne Jones • English artist Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones, 1st
Baronet (1833–98). HJ wrote that Burne-Jones’s “imagination, his fertility of invention, his exquisiteness of work, his remarkable gifts as a colourist—[. . .] all these things constitute a brilliant distinction” (The Painter’s Eye 147).
83.26 Millais’s • Sir John Everett Millais (1829–96), English painter
who helped form the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.
83.26 Leighton’s • Sir Frederic Leighton (1830–96), English painter
and sculptor and president of the Royal Academy of Arts (1878–96).
84.7–8 a little protest of my own from the Pall Mall Gazette • HJ
wrote of Salvini’s theater company:
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84.10 the battle in the college over Greek over athletics • Charles
Eliot Norton stood in the middle of this contest between academics and athletics. He was chairman of the first Harvard Faculty Committee on the Regulation of Athletic Sports, a position he held from 1882 to 1884. The Harvard Alumni Bulletin called his leadership “skilful” (“The Athletic Committee” 196). At the same time, the Archaeological Institute of America, of which Norton was also president, suffered from low enrollment, prompting reorganization in early 1884 (Turner 305). 84.14 en froid • on bad terms with him.
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3 Bolton St W. April 5th ———— Dear Mrs. Hill. Would you very kindly direct cause to be posted, the enclosed to Mrs. Perugini (whose name I do not find(with a certainty of identity) in the Red-book! I am very sorry to say that the purport of it is to beg for a postponement of our party of Monday p.m. I have had for a week an engagement on that day ( that hour) to go down to Epsom to dine spend the night. I know not why—save in the flurry of the charming 86
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prospect—I failed to remember it. I have offered the lovely Mrs. P. every facility for taking another someother day on which I hope you too will find yourself able to agree. Very faithfully yours Henry James
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86.28 ( • [( overwrites —]
87.2 another someother • [some careted above an]
86.20 jane dalzell finlay hill • Wife of London editor Frank Harrison Hill (m. 1862), Jane Hill (d. 1904) wrote literary articles and reviews for several newspapers.
86.29 Mrs. Perugini • Catherine “Kate” Elizabeth Macready Dickens
Perugini (1839–1929), daughter of Charles Dickens and wife of Carlo Perugini (1839–1918). She was an accomplished painter.
86.30 Red-book • Webster’s Royal Red Book, a directory of English nobility and government officials.
archibald philip primrose, lord rosebery 14 April [1884] ALS National Library of Scotland MS 10081, ff. 57–60
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April 14th My dear Rosebery. Don’t be alarmed at a note from me—it is only to give you good news of all the valuable lif lives that you have left in my care: that of your wife children, of the prime-minister of your country his lady daughter. I give them all my time attention, a certain good effect is already perceptible. When 87
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Lady Rosebery suggested to me just now to send you a line that you might know that I am à la hauteur de la situation I immediately seized my—I mean your—that is, one of your— pens—in spite of the fact that I am to take Miss Gladstone out for her walk that she is fretting (very naturally) at my delay. The sublime old man was in the drawing room last night after dinner talked about bookbinding the vulgarity of the son of a Tory Duke having talked about “pooh-poohing” something or other in the house of commons: a vile new verb, unworthy of that high assembly. Today he lunched downstairs discoursed about the new version of the Scriptures the advisability of having at Oxford both a lay a clerical professor of He Hebrew. Hebrew! So you see I keep up the tone of the conversation. Sir A. Clarke, arriving from London interrupted the meal, inspected the statesman, admired the children, reassured Mrs. Gladstone gave every sanction to the party leaving for Holmbury tomorrow. Granville, Levison-Goer c. are I believe coming over to lunch to take them back. I am nervous about dinner this evening should like to read up beforehand—but a walk with Miss Gladstone is I suppose a liberal education— that I must no longer shrink from. I shall take her to the Downs, but we won’t discuss those topics I discussed with you the last time we went there: Byron, Carlyle c.—Excuse my indecent haste. I ought to mention that Sybil has at last accepted me—without a dot; but it won’t come out till 94. Bien à vous H. James Previous publication: HJL 3: 38–39
87.31 lif lives • [v overwrites f ]
88.1 suggested • sugges- | ted
88.12–13 He Hebrew • [b overwrites illegible letter]
88.17 Holmbury • [l inserted]
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87.22 archibald philip primrose, lord rosebery • Archibald Philip Primrose (1847–1929), 5th Earl of Rosebery, writer and politician. He married Hannah de Rothschild in 1878.
87.32 prime-minister • William Ewart Gladstone (1809–98).
87.33 his lady daughter • Catherine Glynne (1812–1900) married William Gladstone in 1839. The Gladstones had three surviving daughters, two of whom were unmarried at the time of this letter: Mary (1847–1927) and Helen (1849–1925).
88.2 à la hauteur de la situation • on top of the situation.
88.4 Miss Gladstone • Mary or Helen Gladstone.
88.11 new version of the Scriptures • The Revised Version, also called
the English Revised Version, of the King James Bible; the New Testament was published in 1881 and the Old Testament, with the New, in 1885.
88.12–13 having at Oxford both a lay a clerical professor of [. . .]
Hebrew! • Likely referring both to the lay Bodleian librarian, Adolph Neubauer (1831–1907), who was appointed in 1884 to the new postition of reader of Rabbinical Hebrew at Oxford, and to clergyman Samuel Rolles Driver (1846–1914), who had been appointed Regius Professor of Hebrew at Oxford by Gladstone in 1883.
88.14 Sir A. Clarke • Sir Andrew Clark (1826–93), personal physician
to the Gladstone family.
88.17 Granville • Granville George Leveson-Gower, Earl Granville
(1815–91), Liberal politician, foreign secretary, and close friend of William Gladstone.
88.17 Levison-Goer • George Granville Leveson-Gower (1858–1951),
Liberal politician and private secretary (1880–85) to William Gladstone.
88.26 Bien à vous • Sincerely yours.
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3 Bolton St. Piccadilly April 16th ———— My dear Aldrich— I hasten to respond to your letter of the 1st of this month. I have had ( still have) no intention whatever of issuing the novel we are discussing together in an English periodical (step by step with its appearance in the Atlantic,) or in any periodical whatever except the Atlantic. I so implicitly assumed that you would understand this that it did=not occur to me to be definite about it. It was because I have had no design of that sort that was to depend on the Atlantic alone for my remuneration, that, in touching in on the question of terms in my 1st letter, I tossed off that proposition which I afterwards admitted to be exaggerated. We may therefore count out the question of simultaneous publication in 2 magazines: the Atlantic shall have the novel quite to itself.—As regards the matter of when I can give you this the opening parts—I confess that makes me instantly very nervous. I should like very much to promise you them for this summer, if that would make you come over (ostensibly to fetch them!) but this would be on my part a preposterous vow. If the story is to begin in the Atlantic on in July, 1885, I shall not—not be able to—begin to work at it seriously till the last work weeks of this y year. It is for you to tell me, rather, when you must have the opening chapters whether they must positively definitely appear not later than in the said July no. 1885. Why not come over tell me this? It is quite as good a reason for the voyage as another. I think I see you sitting in the empty chair that yawns before me making 90
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some horrible statement about your wishing my copy at an unnaturally early day. I But if you will come, I will condone even this. There is one more thing to be said. The novel, as a republication, is definitely promised to Osgood. Since I wrote you last your beautiful little play-book, with
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the added lyrics, have has arrived. Mercedes is truly charming, full of good things—happy little futures speeches pictures, of a light, true touch. It is a thing to regale the fastidious. The verses—I always speak of verses shyly—seem to me to be all that you know how to make such things. I hope you have begun to thaw. These days—these months—for me, are full of Boston anniversaries—of last year. I keep most of them very sadly. Yours ever Henry James No previous publication
90.15 did=not • did= | not
90.18 in on • [o overwrites i]
90.21 question • ques- | tion
90.21 simultaneous • [m malformed]
90.23 this the • [s. blotted out; undotted i then reads as e]
90.23 confess • con- | fess
90.29 y year • [e overwrites illegible letter] 91.2 I But • [B overwrites I] 91.6 have has • [s overwrites ve] 91.6 Mercedes • Merce- | des
90.10–13 I hope [. . .] Henry James • [written across the letter’s first page]
91.11 . • [. overwrites ,]
90.12 the novel • The Princess Casamassima.
90.32 July no. 1885 • The first installment of The Princess Casamassima
was published in the September 1885 issue of the Atlantic Monthly.
91.4 promised to Osgood • The first American book edition of
91
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91.5 your beautiful little play-book • Mercedes, and Later Lyrics.
lawrence barrett 16 April [1884] ALS Colby College Special Collections, Waterville, Maine 10
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3 Bolton St. W. ———— Dear Mr. Barrett. I am just back from three days in the country to find to your note. I shall be very happy to dine with you on May 4th, Sunday, at 7. With kind remembrances to Mrs. Barrett. Very truly yours Henry James April 16th ———— Previous publication: CLQ 35
92.6 lawrence barrett • Barrett (1838–91) was a popular American Shakespearean actor performing in London.
92.15 Mrs. Barrett • Mary F. “Mollie” Mayer Barrett (b. c. 1840); she
married Lawrence Barrett in 1859.
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charles scribner’s sons 16 April [1884] ALS Archives of Charles Scribner’s Sons, Manuscripts Division, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library, C0101, box 104, folder 1
3 Bolton St. W. April 16th Dear Sirs I return you herewith a revised proof of “a A Light Man,” with the old copy. Very few corrections have been necessary, your compositors have done wonderfully well, considering what they had to work from. As regards my remaining right in the tale I note with pleasure the contents of your letter of the 4th. I have no objections (as far my story is concerned) to your selling pro copies, or plates, of your publication (“A Light Man” included) in London. Yours very truly Henry James Messrs. Ch. Scribner’s Sons. ———— P.S. When you send me a cheque, will you kindly send it in the shape of a draft on London? No previous publication
93.9 a A • [A overwrites a]
93.15 concerned • con= | cerned
93.15 your selling • Charles Scribner’s Sons republished HJ’s “A Light
Man” in its Stories by American Authors in July 1884 (Edel and Laurence 207).
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mary and louisa lawrence 16 April [1884] ALS Eton College College Library, Lawrence Papers 146 5
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My dear Ladies. I return today from the country to find your note. It is a melancholy fact that the one engagement that I have to dine in the great void of futurity is for Tuesday the 29th— with Mrs. Humphry Ward, to meet Edmond Schérer Matt. Arnold. Why did you perversely select that fatal day, when my engagement=book yawns with happy blanks? Be assured of my pain—of my irritation, even. I will come very soon make you feel it—perhaps even this afternoon. Very faithfully but disappointedly yours Henry James P.S. Please don’t keep any more detectives on the premises. Wednesday April 16th 3 Bolton St. W. ———— P.P.S. There is to be a dinner to Salvini. Won’t you join it? ————
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The Miss Lawrences 18 Whitehall Place S. W. 30
[Postmark:] LONDON • W 2 AP16 84 W 14
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94.9 engagement • engage- | ment
94.14 irritation, • [ overwrites . ; , inserted]
94.1 mary and louisa lawrence • Mary Wilhelmina (1839–1920) and Louisa Elizabeth Lawrence (1838–1920), socialites and daughters of Sir William Lawrence (1783–1867) and Louisa Senior Lawrence (c. 1803– 55). HJ had known them since 1878.
94.11 Mrs. Humphry Ward • Mary Augusta Arnold Ward.
94.11 Edmond Schérer • French theologian and literary critic Edmond
Henri Adolphe Schérer (1815–89).
benjamin holt ticknor
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16 April [1884] ALS Yale University Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
YCAL MSS 830 20
3 Bolton St. Mayfair April 16th Dear Mr. Ticknor. I received yesterday with thanks your cheque for $89.50, for royalties on Daisy M. the Siege. I am glad the Tales of Three Cities strikes you as good. I hope you are sending me soon the little pamphlet of the New England Winter, similar to that of the two other stories. It has never yet arrived, I am impatient to see it the tale in print. I shall before long be having a volume for you of four or five other stories: two of which are already in Editorial hands, one in this country the other in the U. S. Look out for them—one being called “Pandora” the other “The Author of Beltraffio”. 95
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Two or three more, of about the same length of these— that of a A New England Winter—are speedily to follow, will then be bookable. Yours ever Henry James No previous publication
96.1 that • [t overwrites illegible letter] 96.2 a A • [A overwrites a]
95.25 Daisy M. the Siege • Daisy Miller: A Comedy and The Siege of London. 95.26 Tales of Three Cities • James R. Osgood and Company’s Tales of Three Cities.
95.27 the little pamphlet • According to the Bibliography of American
Literature, twelve copies of “A New England Winter” were printed for copyright on 17 March 1884 (Blanck 129). Edel and Laurence describe this printing as “the ‘pamphlet’ printing,” to secure English copyright (67).
95.31–34 a volume for you [. . .] “Pandora” [. . .] “The Author of Bel-
traffio.” • “The Author of Beltraffio,” “Pandora,” “Georgina’s Reasons,” “The Path of Duty,” “Four Meetings.”
96.1–2 Two or three more [. . .] speedily to follow • “Georgina’s Rea-
sons” was published on 20 July, 27 July, and 3 August 1884; “The Path of Duty” was published in December 1884. “Four Meetings” had been published in November 1877; it was to have been included in Tales of Three Cities but was eventually cut due to space constraints (see HJ to Benjamin Holt Ticknor, CLHJ, 1883–1884 1: 84, 85, and 23 May [1884], pp. 128–29).
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william james 21 April [1884] ALS Houghton bMS Am 1094 (2014) 5
3 Bolton St. W. April 21st ———— Dear William I receive a note from you of 9th, to which, though it doesn’t demand any particular answer I will dash off a few lines of response before taking up the pen of imagination. You enclose an extract from a newspaper purporting to be an article of Matt. Arnold’s about Chicago society, seem to have believe it is his! It doesnt, I must confess, appear to me even a good hoax— full of phrases (“intelligent gentleman,” “cultured people,” “owner of a large grocery-business” c), which he is incapable of using. Nor would he talk about “Chicago-society”. It seems to me poor as a parody— it marks the (geographical) gulf that separates Appian Way from —Bolton St!—that this writer should have appeared to you to catch the tone in which the a London man of M. A.’s stamp should would express himself. The thing, of course, never appeared in the P. M. G. Excuse the invidious style of my acceptance of your offering.—I too am “excited” about the prospect of your getting into John Gray’s house. It is a charming idea, but I shld. fear you would find it an expensive place to live in; as you would have to have a man for the grounds.—But I shall hear with great interest of the sequel. As you don’t dwell on the character of Aunt Kate’s convalescence, besides saying it is slow, I suppose there is nothing particular to hope or fear in regard to it, nothing to be done for the poor dear woman but to write to her when one can, which I do.—I got your enclosure of Bob’s note, a few days since, with news of his curatorship. I hope he may keep it 97
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make it grow. Have you any idea that he has himself this winter advanced in the practice of art? As regards your child’s name I am glad the appendage has not yet been fastened. I am afraid all “selected” names appear to you “tawdry.” If I had a child I would call him (very probably) Roland! “Roland James” is very good. If this doesn’t suit you—nor Godfrey, nor Gautier, nor any name of chivalry, take something out of Shakspeare: a capital source to name a child from: Sebastian, Prosper, Valentine (I like Valentine though not sure I’d give it;) Adrian, Lancelot, Bernard, Justin, Benedick, or Benedict, Bertram, Conrad, Felix, Leonard, c. Putting Hagen apart, I like Herman. But I don’t exactly understand the obligation you seem to feel under to provide Dr. Hagen with a namesake—“because he has none in America!”— has failed to make the provision himself. Did I tell you in my last that I spent at Easter nearly 3 days at the Durdans (Roseberys’) with Gladstone, only two or three others? Haec olim meminisse juvabit, I suppose; but in the present Gladstone’s mind doesn’t interest me much: it appears to have no preferences, to care equally for all subjects— which is tiresome! Look in the Academy of April 19th for a notice of your last article in Mind. I would send you the paper, were it not so difficult, out-of-the way (time-taking,) to buy. I have attacked your two mind articles, with admiration, but been defeated. I can’t give them just now the necessary time. I lunched the other day with Arthur Balfour, lunch tomorrow (elsewhere) to meet Pasteur, returning from the Edinburgh tricentenary. I am anxious to hear your impression of Alice on her return from N. Y. Love to your own. Ever, H. James Previous publication: HJL 3: 39–41; CWJ 1: 379–80; WHSL 159–61
97.7 21 • [2 overwrites illegible character]
97.11 particular • par- | ticular
97.13 extract • [c inserted]
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98.10 Benedict • Bene- | dict
98.22 difficult • diffi- | cult
98.22 • [ overwrites ,]
98.25 tomorrow • to= | morrow
98.26–28 Pasteur, [. . .] H. James • [written across the letter’s first page]
98.27 tricentenary • tricen- | tenary
97.13–14 an article of Matt. Arnold’s about Chicago society • “Mr.
Arnold in Chicago” (New York Tribune), an article critical of Chicago that was widely distributed in the United States. Arnold repudiated the article, which was later exposed as likely a fraud (“Mr. Arnold in Chicago,” Chicago Tribune).
97.20 Appian way • WJ and AHGJ’s home was located at 15 Appian
Way in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
97.23 P. M. G. • The Pall Mall Gazette. In “Mr. Arnold in Chicago,”
the author claims that “Mr. Arnold begins the publication in The Pall Mall Journal of a series of papers embodying some of his impressions of American life. The first paper deals with Chicago, and will undoubtedly provide the inhabitants of that city with much food for reflection” (New York Tribune 4). There was no publication called the Pall Mall Journal.
97.25–26 John Gray’s house • John Chipman Gray (1839–1915), Ameri-
can lawyer and longtime friend of WJ. In 1884 his house was located at 176 Beacon Street in Boston (The Boston Directory 468); WJ and AHGJ never moved there.
98.17 Haec olim meminisse juvabit • From Virgil’s Aeneid, “Forsan et
haec olim meminisse”: “A joy it will be one day, perhaps, to remember even this” (1: 239). 98.20 Academy of April 19 • A review in the Academy describes WJ’s article “What Is an Emotion?” as “ingenious” and “refreshing” (Magazines and Reviews 278).
98.21 your last article in Mind. • “What Is an Emotion?”
98.25 Arthur Balfour • A Conservative politician, Balfour (1848–1930)
became prime minister in 1902.
98.26 Pasteur • Pioneering microbiologist Louis Pasteur (1822–95).
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98.26–27 Edinburgh tricentenary • Founded in 1583, the University of
Edinburgh celebrated its tercentenary in ceremonies from 16 to 19 April 1884. Louis Pasteur was one of “the most eminent scientific men of the Continent” invited to be a delegate; during the opening reception, he was “enthusiastically welcomed,” with the “audience springing to their feet and accompanying their cheers by waving hats and hankerchiefs” (“The Edinburgh Tercentenary” 154).
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louisa lawrence 21 April [1884] ALS Eton College College Library, Lawrence Papers 147
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3 Bolton St. W. April 21st ———— Dear Miss Lawrence. There is a limit (strange as it may seem) to my making ability to make myself agreeable, in any language, at the luncheon-hour. But I can’t resist Frenchmen, even then— I can’t resist you your sister, at any time whatever! Therefore I shall appear at one on Tuesday, will get up my physiology in the interval. Meanwhile I am much more grateful than this accidentally-crusty note would imply am ever of both of you the impatient devoted H. James
Miss L. E. Lawrence 18 Whitehall Place S. W. 100
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[Postmark:] LONDON S.W. ZV AP21 84 62 [One illegible postmark] No previous publication
100.24 physiology • physiol- | ogy
100.27 impatient • im- | patient
100.22–24 Frenchmen [. . .] physiology • HJ met Louis Pasteur on
Tuesday, 22 April (see HJ to WJ, 21 April [1884], p. 98).
100.23 your sister • Mary Wilhelmina Lawrence.
j. cotter morison
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21 April [1884] ALS University of Newcastle Misc. Mss. 88
Dear Morison. Delighted to dine with you on Wednesday May 1 14th. Ce n’est moi qui aurais refusé de gravir votre pente—but I shall be exact at the Savile at 7.45; some other day I shall—with great pleasure, invade your hermitage. Yours very faithfully Henry James 3 Bolton St. W. April 21st ———— No previous publication
101.21 1 14th • [4 overwrites illegible character]
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101.15 j. cotter morison • Morison (1832–88) was the author of The Life and Times of St. Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux, a.d. 1091–1153 (1863), Gibbon (1878), and Macaulay (1882) and a staff member on the Saturday Review. HJ had known Morison since at least 1878.
101.21–22 Ce n’est moi qui aurais refusé de gravir votre pente • It is not
I who would have refused to climb your slope.
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katharine de kay bronson 2 May [1884] Mf ALC Archives of American Art, roll 384
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3 Bolton St. W. May 2d Dear Mrs. Bronson. Please be kind and helpful to Mrs. Gardner, who is a forlorn, bereft, emaciated lady just returned from the Indies,—and so gracious as to believe that she might have found me in Venice. You will easily console her for my accidental absence. I am busy preparing a reception for her here and will not let her want for cigarettes or addresses. You know all about her—or may fancy you do; but in point of fact you will not—cannot—know till you have met her—what a charming acquaintance I introduce to you and how natural it is that, in offering her your friendly hospitality, you should, in my estimation, add to the favours— the benefits you have already extended to your very gratefully, faithfully and surely-to-run back again Henry James No previous publication
102.17 Gardner • [copy-text reads Gardener; probably transcriber’s error]
102.20 absence • [copy-text reads absencr; probably transcriber’s error]
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102.10 katharine de kay bronson • Katharine de Kay Bronson (1834–1901) was a longtime friend of HJ, probably from the 1850s. She resided in Venice at Casa Alvisi.
102.12 Mf ALC Archives of American Art, roll 384 • The copy-text
filmed is a 1951 autograph transcription of HJ’s original made by Bronson’s niece, Phyllis de Kay Wheelock.
102.17 Mrs. Gardner • Art collector, patron, and philanthropist Isabella
Stewart Gardner (1840–1924). HJ had known Gardner since at least the summer of 1879.
isabella stewart gardner 2 May [1884] ALS Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
3 Bolton St. Piccadilly. May 2d. Dear Mrs. Gardner. I ought to have answered before this your terrible little letter from Agra—but you mentioned the 1st May as the first moment, probably, at which you would find my own epistle (at Venice:) I reflect that this is only May 2d that people never arrive in Venice as soon as they expect to. As you must have been dallying with the orientals on the way, you probably won’t get there for another week or so. I am myself, as you see, a striking example of the truth of that axiom—that one doesn’t get to Venice as soon as one expected to the year before. I shall not get there for a long time, my dear lady—till a long time after you have left. I shall see you before that, here in London, will then explain to you the source of my little delays. You will talk perhaps about broken vows—or you would, at least, if you were not a woman of infinite tact. We must break something, sometimes if I didn’t smash a promise occasionally, I shld. 103
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fracture something more valuable still. I won’t ask you to forgive me—for you will pretend you won’t—even long after you have really done so— the plea of extenuating circumstances sounds weak. I would much rather pose as a faithless fiend—I so seldom have the opportunity. It is true that I haven’t the excitement of believing that you miss me—on the lagoon—for I know too well that you don’t miss anything or one anyone, in this preposterously pleasant career of yours. You have everything, you do everything, you enjoy everything, if you don’t happen to find the extra-post-horse at Venice to pull your triumphal car—to tow your gondola—you may be sure the poor patient beast will be waiting at the next étape. In other words I shall be waiting in London, shall get into harness when you arrive. In the meanwhile have pity on my the place where the collar has rubbed. I wear a collar always: que dis-je?—I wear half a dozen. They are piled up round my poor old head, when you see me you will scarce distinguish the tip of my nose. I am a ruminant quadruped, too, I turn it over in my mind that, really, I, at least, am too good a friend of yours to lend a further hand—or hoof—in spoiling you. I have heard about the King of Cambodia— the Nizam of Hyderabad(?)—about all your adventures entertainments I feel kind of savage at the thought that you have had this lovely time while I have lead a rude workaday ▬ life, jolting scraping from one dull day to the other. I don’t pity you, dear lady—though I appreciate you as much as ever. I send you herein a line from Mrs. Bronson, who, however, is so absurdly easy to know that you will throw it overboard. Take it out of me here, believe me ever yours unfaithfully Henry James Previous publication: Zorzi 115–17; Zorzi, Palazzo 74–76; Zorzi, Private 232–33
103.29 my • [m overwrites illegible letter]
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103.33 something • some- | thing
104.8 everything • every- | thing
104.15 wear • [w overwrites illegible letter]
104.27–29 easy to [. . .] Henry James • [written across the letter’s first
page]
103.21 Agra • Agra, India. Gardner and her husband, John “Jack”
Lowell Gardner (1837–98), were toward the end of a yearlong tour of Asia. They were in Agra from 7 to 10 March 1884 (Gardner 33–34).
103.24 never arrive in Venice • Gardner arrived in Venice on Tuesday,
13 May 1884 (Gardner 41).
103.30 in London • The Gardners were in London from 12 to 25 July
1884 (Gardner 53). 104.12 étape • stage. 104.15 que dis-je? • what am I saying?
104.21 King of Cambodia • King Norodom of Cambodia (1834–1904).
104.21 Nizam of Hyderabad • Mir Mahbub Ali Khan Bahadur, Asaf Jah
VI (1866–1911), nizam of Hyderabad, a principal ruler in India.
104.26 Mrs. Bronson • Katharine de Kay Bronson.
alice james 3 May [1884] ALS Houghton bMS Am 1094 (1605)
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3 Bolton St. W. A May 3d. Dear Sister. I have just received your letter of the 21st last—the 1st written me after your return from New York. It gives me an account of you which cannot fail to gratify me. You upbraid me very cruelly for a parti-pris of misery in considering your situation— but I must tell you—remind you—that you snubbed me still 105
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more for making some cheerful remarks to you on the occasion of Katherine’s departure—saying that it was very easy to be cheerful about the woes of others, c. I held that this was a warning to lower my pitch— sought to offend you less, by not assuming that in New York you were happy happier than you were. I give you notice now, once for all, that I shall hereafter take rosy views of everything, at any price.—You must have been glad to rentrer dans vos pénates, I hope that fatigues reactions now being over, you have settled down to the happy consciousness of having proved in a hundred ways that you are better. This must extend your horizon considerably— I have no doubt that horizon will now become imimense, exhibit the most pleasing features.—For the good news about Aunt Kate I am very happy—especially as it is confirmed by a letter from herself, arriving with yours written in bed. She says she is really better, writes like her “old self”, speaks of the impression of physical intellectual power that you made upon her during much most the time she saw you in N. Y. I shall write to her after closing this. Poor Uncle Robertson’s departure is very good to hear of, I hope his poor extenuated daughters will now have some rest freedom. Their bettered situation is one thing less to lament! I delight to hear of William’s “fatness”—he can never be too corpulent for me. When a man “puts on flesh” in proportion as he puts on babies, I suppose one may cease to worry about him. I shall be brief with you this time, dear Sister, as I have accumulations of letters! There is nothing new or important with me—save the rapid flight of these spring weeks. A cold, nasty spring (now very wet) has succeeded our beautiful winter. John Hay has come out to stay 6 weeks with Clarence King, I dine with the pair tonight. Have you read the “Breadwinners”, which I am morally sure is his? It has a great deal of crude force is ce que qu’on a (lately) fait de mieux in the American novel, after Howells me. Cl. King has flung away Rothschilds, unequalled 106
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social opportunities, c, dines with publicans, barmaids other sinners. He is a charming, but a queer, incomplete, unsati unsatisfactory creature. I dined last night at the Roseberys, in company with Dukes, Duchesses other grandees—a sort of festivity that I endure but don’t enjoy. As yet the season is very dull, I dine out little—to my great satisfaction. Poverty, bereavements, Duke of Albany c, have dropped a veil over people’s social expenditure for the moment. I shall probably not stay in London later than July 1st that is but 2 months off—to my delight. I am happy to hear of the native hue of the Lodge—she must have waited for my departure to show it! It makes her, for you, a more preservative neighbour. Mrs. Lombard continues slowly to die, of a tumour; makes me think with rapture that we were of our being spared that sort of ordeal with Mother Father. The exhibitions are open, the deluge of bad pictures has begun. The best portrait at the Academy is in my opinion one of Mrs. Henry White (Miss Rutherford of N. Y.) by Sargent, whom I told you I lately la had here, from Paris, like so much. Poor Lawrence Barrett, succeeding Mary Anderson, is a dead failure here, Howells’s play (of Yorick’s l Love) has not saved him. I dine with him tomorrow. Ever your jocundissimo Henry ———— No previous publication
105.28 A May • [M overwrites A]
106.34 remind • re | mind
106.2 departure • de- | parture
106.3 woes • [w overwrites illegible letter] 106.5 happy happier • [ie overwrites blotted y]
106.12 imimense • im- | imense; [misspelled]
106.21 freedom • free- | dom
106.24 f • [f overwrites ”]
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106.30 , • [, overwrites .]
106.33 que qu’on • [o overwrites e; ’ inserted]
107.1 opportunities • oppor- | tunities
107.8 expenditure • expendi- | ture
107.11–12 It • [I overwrites illegible letter]
107.12 preservative • pre- | servative
107.13 ; • [; overwrites :]
107.18–19 la had • [h overwrites la]
107.20 Anderson • An- | derson
107.21 l Love • [L overwrites l]
107.22 jocundissimo • jocundis- | -simo
107.22–23 Ever [. . .] Henry ————• [written across the letter’s first
page]
105.31 your return from New York • AJ was under the care of Dr.
William B. Neftel for two months, beginning in late February and ending in late April. 105.33 parti-pris • bias.
106.2 Katherine’s departure • Katharine Peabody Loring and her sister,
Louisa, left for England in February 1884.
106.8 rentrer dans vos pénates • return home.
106.19–20 Uncle Robertson’s departure • Alexander Robertson Walsh
(1809–84), HJ’s maternal uncle, died on 17 April 1884.
106.29 John Hay • John Milton Hay (1838–1905) had arrived in Lon-
don in May and stayed for six weeks (Monteiro 25). Hay was in fact the author of The Bread-Winners: A Social Study.
106.30 Clarence King • Clarence Rivers King (1842–1901), world-
renowned mining geologist, was the first director of the US Geological Survey.
106.32–33 ce [. . .] qu’on a (lately) fait de mieux • the best one has
done.
106.34–107.2 Cl. King has flung away Rothschilds [. . .] other sin-
ners • During Clarence King’s two-year tour of Europe from 1882 to 1884, he was sought after by “princes, dukes and millionaires” and by
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107.10–11 native hue of the Lodge • See Shakespeare, Hamlet 3.1.83.
107.17–18 Mrs. Henry White (Miss Rutherford of N. Y.) by Sargent •
Margaret Stuyvesant Rutherford White (Mrs. Henry White), a portait that HJ later wrote displays “the quality which makes Mr. Sargent so happy as a painter of women” (“John S. Sargent” 691).
107.19–21 Poor Lawrence Barrett [. . .] Howells’s play [. . .] has not
saved him • William Dean Howells’s play Yorick’s Love originally debuted in 1878 (under the working title of A New Drama) but was performed in cities around the United States. American actor Lawrence Barrett (1838– 91) performed in the London production in April 1884 at the Lyceum Theatre. Reviews of Barrett’s performance tended overall to be negative, with one reviewer pointing to a “lack of passion and intensity” and “supremely ridiculous” acting techniques that made the role fall flat (“Easter Amusements” 2).
107.22 jocundissimo • most cheerful.
lady elizabeth eberstadt lewis 4 May [1884] ALS Bodleian Library Oxford
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3 Bolton St. Piccadilly W. May 4th Dear Mrs. Lewis. The best thing about my tale is that it has elicited your charming, kindly, friendly note. That is its “supreme” quality. You obeyed a very happy inspiration in writing it to me: may you never have a worse one!— in this pushing London never 109
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be more awkwardly “pushed!” I hope the 2d part won’t make you repent. It is very dismal. Very gratefully yours Henry James No previous publication
109.33 inspira= | tion
109.23 lady elizabeth eberstadt lewis • Elizabeth Eberstadt Lewis (1845–1931) was the second wife of prominent lawyer Sir George Henry Lewis (1833–1911). She kept a well-known salon at their home, 88 Portland Place, London.
109.31 my tale • “Lady Barberina.”
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3 Bolton St. W. May 6th ———— My dear Grace. I would send little prints from my pen, such as your last note—enclosing the literary flower from your own intellectual tree—asks for, if I produced them with any frequency. But I do few small, occasional things. All I can do is to promise you that you shall see them whenever they appear. I have just finished a short story which appears (the 1st half of it) in the next Macmillan here— that I will straightway (when it comes out) despatch to you. What shall I tell you—wishing to be jocose enlivening? The Season has begun, but thanks to defunct Dukes, unpaid rents, a beastly spring following a lovely winter, c, the 110
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Month of May, as yet, is as little typical of that festive period as possible. “There is very little going on.” I have never at this time, had so few invitations to dinner. It is by this that I guage feel the social pulse of London. But the comparative quiet is golden to me: no one can appreciate more instantly a longer beat in the great London rhythm. We are in the midst of the explosion of exhibitions; most of which are plentifully stocked with “rot.” The Academy is “filthy.” The Grosvenor Gallery is better only in possessing a beautiful Burne-Jones, a cophetua the beggar Maid which is perhaps the finest thing he has done. A young friend of mine of whom I am very fond, whose talent I think rare, (John Sargent,) has contributed the sent over from Paris, from through my mediation, a portrait which is universally gibed jeered at—so that it is almost a personal discomfiture to me. He has a better—much better thing at the Academy—a big portrait of a pretty American woman (Mrs. White, wife of the 2d secretary of legation here,) which I think far away, in style, tone, c, the 1st portrait there the only thing which touches a woman (with the brush) as a woman should be touched. But very few other people see that here (though Sargent) has such a reputation in Paris,) I am left to the consolations of my personal enthusiasm. I have, àpropos not only of this, but many other things, the most luxurious moments of (private) diatribe against the deep seated Philistinism, ▬ the helpless bourgeois density of the English in matters of artistic taste perception—production. The whole form of art is so smothered up here in humbugging paraphernalia that one wonders it keeps alive at all: witness the annual R. Academy dinner, with speeches by the Archbishop of canterbury, Canon Farrar, the Duke of Cambridge c—the whole thing social, political, snobbish, redolent of church state, drenched in overdone “loyalty”—but having nothing whatever to say to art not striking out a single spark or contributing a single idea that will help to make her free happy. I am sometimes 111
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overwhelmed with the hypocrisy pharisaism of English life— but I won’t embark on that infinite sea. May 7th. I broke this off yesterday p.m. to go to dinner; now I have ½ an hour to finish before going to a wedding. The wedding is that of Miss Motley Col. Mildmay, the Harcourts give away the bride the breakfast. Miss Motley has neither youth, beauty nor fortune, the Colonel, I bilieve does not supply the deficiency. But they are a sensible, pleasant, practical pair, they set up in matrimony (with a small house in Belgravia) on £1000 a year! Àpropos of £ thousands a year, I feel that I was rather nasty the other day in something I said to you about Lady Reay. She is really a very nice, graceful, attractive woman. I have been more struck with it lately (seeing her several times) than I have been before, her drawing-room is more of a “saloon” than many others. She asked me lately with much interest about Sally—whether I knew when she was coming c. The Simons are also looking out for Sally—though with what prospects (for her) you may perhaps gather from poor Mr. Simon’s assurance to me that they have “a very dreary house—a monstrous dreary house.” I thought Mrs. S’s appearance didn’t contradict the announcement. I met Miss Hogarth the other day (at Mrs. Perugin’s) we fraternized over our mutual friend. One could fraternize with Miss H. on an even slighter pretext. Mrs. Perugini has a very pretty studio in the wilds of Pimlico; but is prettier than her own pictures even than her husband’s, which are also prettir than some others, in this land of daubs. I was offered up there as a sacrifice to the youthful Miss Toole, daughter of the comedian, who is an “admirer”, who sent me the next day by her father, the dirtiest “birth-day book” I ever saw, that I might inscribe my name in it, in company with those of many actresses of burlesque. The theatrical element here is more than ever, as they say, “all over the place.” I dined two nights since with Lawrence Barrett, the American tragedian, who has been playing here with very moderate success (partly in Howells’s 112
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piece—“Yorick’s Love”;) which, however, didn’t prevent him from giving a gorgeous banquet to about 20 gentlemen—mainly artists literati. Lowell I have seen but seldom this winter— I suppose it is a measure of the inferior society in which I move, that I don’t meet him. He lives with Dukes— — with Mrs. Smalley!— though I dined in company with 2 (dukes) the other day (Westminster Manchester, if you are curious to know!) they are not my habitual society. He (Lowell) is an odd mixture of public journalistic popularity private— what shall I call it?—liability to be criticised. He had great success at Edinburgh (the Tercentenary of the University, which was an immense function) the other day, his speeches were described to me (by Reay, who is a good judge) as far away the best delivered there. On the other hand Mrs. Green, the widow of the historian, a very charming, intelligent woman, lately described him to me (while he was her neighbour at dinner) as insulting her, persistently brutally chaffing her, comparing her unfavourably with American women, returning again again to the charge c, till she begged for mercy, then he wouldn’t give it! The trouble with him is that he is not a real man of the world! Burn this up! At Easter, I spent 2 days (almost alone) in the house with Gladstone—the Roseberys’, at Epsom—which was interesting, but not as valuable a privilege as it may sound. He is a parson perverted! I must go stick a flower in my button-hole for Miss Motley. I will write you the rest the next time. Ever dear Grace—your very faithful Henry James Continue to review; become the first “lady-journalist” of America! No previous publication
111.3 invitations • invi= | tations
111.13 portrait • por- | trait
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111.29 canterbury • canter- | bury
111.31 redolent • redo= | lent
111.32 — • [— overwrites .]
112.7 bilieve • [misspelled]
112.9 ! • [! overwrites :]
112.24 • [ overwrites ]
112.25 husband’s • hus= | band’s
112.26 prettir • [misspelled]
112.33 American • Amer- | ican
112.34 playing • [pl overwrites illegible letter]
113.10 liability • lia- | bility
113.15 woman • wo= | man
113.18 comparing • com= | paring
113.25–29 Miss Motley [. . .] of America! • [written across the letter’s first
page]
110.29–30 just finished a short story • “The Author of ‘Beltraffio.’”
111.9–10 beautiful Burne-Jones [. . .] the finest thing he has done •
Edward Burne-Jones’s widely acclaimed King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid.
111.13–15 a portrait [. . .] discomfiture to me • John Singer Sargent’s
Mrs. Thomas Wodehouse Legh. One reviewer described Sargent’s piece at the Grosvenor exhibit as a “disappointment” (“London Spring Exhibitions” 190); another concluded that “the repulsiveness of the portrait” is “distressing” (“The Grosvenor Exhibition” 604).
111.20 should be touched • HJ later wrote that Sargent “handles these
feminine elements with a special feeling for them, and they borrow something of nobleness from his brush” (“John S. Sargent” 691).
111.28–29 R. Academy dinner • The Royal Academy of Arts anniver-
sary dinner was held on 3 May 1884. The St. James’s Gazette reported that “the speeches at the dinner did not reach the average degree of excellence” (“The Royal Academy Dinner” 14).
111.29 Archbishop of canterbury • Edward White Benson (1829–
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1884 96), archbishop of Canterbury and father of writer, editor, and scholar Arthur Christopher Benson (1862–1925), with whom HJ later developed a friendship.
111.29–30 Canon Farrar • Frederic Farrar (1831–1903), canon of
Westminster.
111.30 Duke of Cambridge • Prince George William Frederick Charles
(1819–1904), 2nd Duke of Cambridge, head of the British army.
112.4–5 wedding is that of Miss Motley Col. Mildmay • Lt. Col.
Herbert Alexander St. John Mildmay (1836–1922) married Susan Margaret Stackpole Motley (1848–1919) on 7 May 1884.
112.5 the Harcourts • Sir William George Granville Venables Ver-
non (1827–1904) and Elizabeth Cabot Motley Harcourt (b. 1831). HJ had known them since at least 1878.
112.10 the other day • See 29, 31 March [1884] to Grace Norton, where
HJ describes Lady Reay as a “fashionable [. . .] icicle” (p. 82).
112.21 Miss Hogarth • Georgina Hogarth (1827–1917) was the sister-in-
law of Charles Dickens and a family friend of the Nortons.
112.21 Mrs. Perugin’s • Artist Catherine “Kate” Elizabeth Macready
Dickens Perugini.
112.24 pretty studio in the wilds of Pimlico • Carlo and Kate Perugini’s
residence at 141 Warwick Street (now Warwick Way) in Pimlico, London.
112.27 Miss Toole • Florence Mabel Toole (1866–88), daughter of John
Lawrence and Susan Hale Toole (1823–89).
112.28 the comedian • John Lawrence Toole (1830–1906), English
comic and burlesque actor.
113.2 a gorgeous banquet • No banquet for Barrett with “about 20
gentlemen” present was found. However, there were other widely reported dinners in Barrett’s honor, in particular, one of 2 April 1884 with “one hundred and fifty guests chosen from literary and artistic London” (Barron 81).
113.3 Lowell • James Russell Lowell (1819–91), American poet, critic,
Harvard professor, diplomat, and politician. He became American minister to Spain in 1877. Lowell edited the Atlantic Monthly (1857–61) and the
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The Complete Letters of Henry James North American Review (1864). HJ’s friendship with Lowell grew close after 1880, when Lowell became American minister to Britain.
113.5–6 Mrs. Smalley • Phoebe Garnaut Smalley (1837–1923), the
adopted daughter of abolitionist Wendell and Ann Phillips. She married George W. Smalley, London-based correspondent for the New York Tribune, in 1862.
113.7 Westminster Manchester • Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1st Duke of
Westminster (1825–99), and William Montague, 7th Duke of Manchester (1823–90).
113.10–11 great success at Edinburgh • James Russell Lowell, who at-
tended the University of Edinburgh’s tercentenary celebration as a dele gate, received “from the audience a most flattering recognition” as one of the “more distinguished of the university guests” during opening ceremonies (“The Edinburgh Tercentenary” 154). Lowell gave at least two especially well-received speeches: one at the Tercentenary Banquet on 17 April 1884 and another at the Reception of Delegates on 18 April (Records of the Tercentenary Festival 136–38, 152).
113.13 Reay • Donald James Mackay (1839–1921), Scottish nobleman
and 11th Lord Reay and 1st Baron Reay. HJ had known him since 1877.
113.14 Mrs. Green • Irish historian and nationalist Alice Stopford
Green (1847–1929), author of Town Life in the Fifteenth Century and The Making of Ireland and Its Undoing, 1200–1600. She also assisted her husband, John Richard Green, with his historical work.
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james bryce 7 May [1884] ALS Bodleian Library Oxford MSS Bryce 8, f. 14–15 5
3 Bolton St. W. May 7th ———— Dear Bryce. John Hay is at the Bristol Hotel, Burlington Gardens, I have written to him to ask him to come with to Bryanston Square on Friday evening. I shall be delighted to bring him if possible. I shld. say however that he is rather “seedy”— slightly careful, I believe, about going out o’ nights. Yours ever Henry James No previous publication
117.1 james bryce • Bryce (1838–1922) was a British legal historian and author of The American Commonwealth. He served as chief secretary for Ireland (1905–6) and ambassador to the United States (1907–13). Bryce became 1st Viscount Bryce in 1913.
117.10 Bristol Hotel • Bristol Hotel, Bond Street, in Piccadilly,
London.
117.11–12 Bryanston Square on Friday evening • James Bryce’s home
was at 35 Bryanston Square, London. His sister hosted a “little party” of young people there, and Bryce invited HJ and John Milton Hay in a letter of 6 May [1884] (see HJ to John Milton Hay, 7 May [1884], p. 118).
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john milton hay 7 May [1884] ALS Brown University John Hay Collection 5
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3 Bolton St. W. May 7th Dear Hay. The enclosed will explain itself. I have promised—in an hour of weakness—to go to Miss Bryce’s “little party” on Friday. Won’t you come with me? Do. If it will be a bribe or a lure, I will dine with you first—or rather, why shouldn’t we (if we could provide King with a barmaid) dine together at the Athenaeum? Tout à vous Henry James Previous publication: Monteiro 96
118.9 The enclosed • James Bryce’s letter to HJ, 6 May [1884] (Mon-
teiro 172n1).
118.10 Miss Bryce’s “little party” • In his 6 May [1884] letter to HJ
(Monteiro 172n1), James Bryce invited HJ and John Milton Hay to his sister’s “little party of young people” on the following Friday (see also HJ to James Bryce, 7 May [1884], p. 117).
118.14 Tout à vous • Altogether yours.
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eveleen tennant myers 12 May [1884] ALS Trinity College, Cambridge Wren Library, Myers 25.145 5
3 Bolton St. W. May 13 12th Dear Mrs. Myers. I find your very kind note on my return from a Sunday in the country. I am very sorry to say that I have for next Saturday evening Sunday such engagements as I cannot very well ask to be released from as must detain me in town. I am full of regret, for I should greatly enjoy a Sunday in Cambridge. Do, kindly, give me another chance; it will be an act of benevolence. Believe me, with kind remembrances to your husband, very faithfully yours Henry James No previous publication
119.7 13 12th • [2 overwrites 3]
119.1 eveleen tennant myers • Eveleen “Evie” Tennant Myers (1856–1937) was a photographer and the third daughter of Gertrude Barbara Rich (c. 1820–1918) and politician and attorney Charles Tennant (1796–1873); she was also the sister of artist Dorothy “Dolly” Tennant (see CLHJ, 1876–1878 2: 99n97.2–3) and Elsie “Alice” Tennant (1848–1930).
119.16 your husband • Frederic William Henry Myers (1843–1901),
poet, classicist, essayist, pioneering psychologist, and founder of the Society for Psychical Research. Eveleen Tennant married him on 15 March 1880.
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edmund gosse 13 May [1884] ALS Leeds University BC Gosse Correspondence 5
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3 Bolton St. W. May 13th ———— Dear Gosse I will come in on Sunday with great pleasure—toward six. As for Mrs. Sherwood—but enough. I have dodged her!—but it is written. Yours ever H. James No previous publication
120.11 Mrs. Sherwood • Mary Elizabeth Wilson Sherwood (1826–
1903), author of Manners and Social Usages, in which she quotes HJ’s writing: “‘We have no leisure class,’ as Henry James says in his brilliant ‘International Episode’” (20).
houghton, mifflin and company 15 May [1884] ALS Houghton 25
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3 Bolton St Piccadilly May 15th ———— Dear Sirs. I beg to acknowledge with thanks your cheque (draft on Messrs. Ward, Lock Co) for £19.19.1, accompanying acct. of 1/2 year’s sales. Yours very truly Henry James 120
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120.32 accompanying • accom- | panying
eveleen tennant myers 16 May [1884] ALS Trinity College, Cambridge Wren Library, Myers 25.146 10
3 Bolton St. Piccadilly May 16th ———— Dear Mrs. Myers. I am very sorry to give you so much trouble with my little visit. Alas, on June 1st (or the day before) I go down to stay till Monday with the Ch. Lawrences, at Godalming: so that moment is, I am very sorry to say, impossible to me. But any Sunday in June would suit me—as none of them are now engaged: 8th, 15th, or 22d. If either of these dates should be convenient to you, I would immediately agree, to such a day. with the greatest pleasure. I shall keep them free till I hear from you—at your leisure— am yours very truly Henry James No previous publication
121.17 , • [, overwrites .]
121.17 Ch. Lawrences • Charles Napier Lawrence (1855–1927), later
1st Baron Lawrence of Kingsgate, was a British businessman. His wife (m. 1881) was New York–born Catherine Sumner (d. 1934).
121.17 Godalming • In Surrey, England.
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eleanor mary sellar 20 May [1884] ALS Private 5
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3 Bolton St W. ———— Dear Mrs. Sellar. I am very sorry to say that I am dining on Sunday next 25th, with Mr. Mrs. Boughton—an old engagement! I regret the loss of the opportunity you offer me am, with many thanks Yours very truly Henry James May 20th No previous publication
122.1 eleanor mary sellar • Wife of Edinburgh University Latin professor William Young Sellar, Eleanor (1829–1918) was also a close friend of Robert Louis Stevenson and Herbert Spencer. She published Recollections and Impressions in 1907.
122.9 Mr. Mrs. Boughton • Katharine Louisa Cullen (1845–1919)
married English painter George Henry Boughton (1833–1905) in 1865. HJ met the couple in 1877.
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thomas sergeant perry 22 May [1884] ALS Colby College Special Collections, Waterville, Maine
5
3 Bolton St. W. May 22d ———— Dear Tommy. Lang, as you see, is very willing, I trust his “rendition” of the bards of Hellas will ornament your page. Be sure you call the book, by the way, “Cyclop” of the Greek the Roman literatures;” not “of the Greek Roman literatures.” Excuse this forward suggestion of a cocknefied purist. I am too busy to-day, dear Tommy, to do more than give you my blessing. London at this time is a terrible place—for one’s having none of the loose-change of time. I commend your noble work, am yours ever H. James
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[Postmarks:] BOSTON JUN 2 PAID[;] 6-2 -84 S A [Partially legible postmark:] LONDON • W. 4 MY22 84 7 [One illegible postmark]
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123.11 ornament • orna- | ment
123.12 Roman • [R overwrites blotted illegible letter]
123.10 Lang • Andrew Lang (1844–1912), prolific writer, poet, trans-
lator, and historian, best remembered for his scholarship concerning myths and for his collections of fairy tales. He was one of HJ’s first acquaintances when HJ settled in London in 1876.
123.10–11 “rendition” of the bards of Hellas • Lang was translator of
several collections of Greek poetry. See his The Homeric Hymns and The Iliad of Homer Done into English Prose.
123.11–12 your page [. . .] “Cyclop” • Likely a reference to Perry’s plan
for writing an encyclopedia of Greek and Latin literature. It was never written (see also Harlow 104).
alice howe gibbens james 23 May 1884 20
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3 Bolton St. W., May 23rd, 1884. My dear Alice: I have a letter of yours to thank you for, and one of William’s too, as you write his as well as your own. Yours of April 26th was a sweet boon; and now there is one, scarcely less welcome, of May 9th, begun by you and ended by William. You must let me make this an epistle to both of you together—though I may add a postscript for William in particular. I have just been writing (a longish letter) to Mount Vernon St., so that I feel a little drained, “anyway”. I take the more interest in the Baby’s name the longer he goes without one. I think Roland excellent, 124
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and if I had a brat would bestow it on him. You had better apply it, without further hesitation. I am rather alarmed at your saying that if you name him for Dr. H. (which I hope you won’t, as I now consider that a naming of a child “for” another person—irrespective of the charm of the name—is an unlawful sacrifice of the infant—a kind of human sacrifice—a “giving away”) you will habitually call him Hagen! That is dreadful— reflect and don’t! I get almost nothing from America but news of pople going mad, etc., with other items that seem more or less redolent of misfortune and suffering. William’s last brings me news of Bob’s last rupture with his wife, the collapse of his art Museum etc. I am very sorry to hear it, but I am not surprised—not expecting the calm of the past winter to last indefinitely. I agree with William that if he can get some simple art-work of some kind to do, it will be a great help to him, and hope LaFarge or Crowninshield may have something to offer. It would be a satisfaction to know what he has accomplished this winter, and how seriously he has been working. It is my belief that he can do well enough to make it pay him—if he will stick to it and be steady. His faculty is certainly as good as that of many other pople who make it pay. William’s cares and attentions to his infirm relations and friends are full of nobility, but must be a tremendous devourer of his time. If I could help him out with some of them I would; but I scarcely know what I can at this distance. The best thing I can do is to conjure him to keep some of himself for himself and for his wife and children. I have very little personal news, and feel much happier when I haven’t any than when I have. As I grow older I have rather a dread of news—it is so very apt to be bad. The “season” is pretty well developed here by this time, but it brings nothing of extraordinary interest to me—except a good many dinners, of which I frequently partake. I see at them a great many people; but seeing people is so much the habit and texture of life here and I have now grown so used to it, that I don’t notice them 125
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much and forget all about them half an hour after I have come away. Considering, too, how many people I see, I lead rather a lonely life. I shall probably remain in London till the first of August and then go to the continent somewhere and try to get a little nature,—an article I have been almost completely deprived of for years. The exhibitions (pictures) are all in full swing here—but they are dismal and depressing to me, for the most part, through the inferiority and helplessness, the want of artistic feeling, of the producers. The main picture of the year is a very large, beautiful and elaborate Burne Jones—which, however, in spite of much splendour and interest, strikes me, as all his things do, as something related and described, rather than painted; not the appearance of a scene, but the idea. The idea, this year—Cophetua and the beggarmaid—is magnificent. I spent a day lately with B. J. in the country. He is a dear, sweet creature and has the ineffable happiness of being completely absorbed in his work—having all his being in it. I dined a few nights ago with Edmund Gurney—who was rather silent and bored (by some of his company, and a little, I think, by his wife’s flights into gentility,) and he said he had greatly enjoyed William’s “joke”—the “what is an emotion?” in Mind. (I have received with thanks, by the way, the [. . .].) But he said he was going to write a little answer to it—“I think he ought to be told it is a joke. But what a style—what a philosophic style! For vivacity, for freshness, there has never been anything like it!”—I hope your summer prospects are clearing up and that you will arrive at your cottage near Henrietta Temple. Your (Alice’s) account of the young William’s personality is full of interest and seems to promise you a palpitating future! I shall probably come over and spend a summer in two or three years. I shall send with this a short p.s. to William. Farewell, dear Alice; I embrace you and I bless the babies. I hope you hear sometimes from Aunt Kate, who has lately written very cheerfully to me. 126
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Ever your affectionate H. James. No previous publication
125.9 pople • [misspelled]
125.21 pople • [misspelled]
126.22 [. . .] • [blank word space on the copy-text]
124.33–34 interest in the Baby’s name • See HJ to WJ, 20 February,
26 March, and 21 April [1884], pp. 25, 74–75, 98.
125.11 Bob’s last rupture with his wife • According to Maher, Mary
Holton James recorded in her date book in May that “life as such cannot last and he [RJ] must try a life away from me. He accordingly went to Delafield and North Lake [Wisconsin] for the summer” (170).
125.11–12 the collapse of his art Museum • RJ had been made curator
of the Milwaukee Art Museum in March, but he had resigned by May (Maher 170).
125.16 Crowninshield • Frederic Crowninshield (1845–1918), painter,
writer, and teacher. He taught at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston from 1879 until 1885.
125.21–22 William’s cares and attentions to his infirm relations and
friends • Carrie Cranch, Caroline “Carrie” James, Josephine James, Mary Holton James, and RJ were all friends or members of the James family who had recently requested assistance from WJ.
126.27 your cottage near Henrietta Temple • WJ and AHGJ spent
the 1884 summer at a boardinghouse on Otsego Lake, New York, near Swanswick, the home of HJ’s first cousin Henrietta Temple Pell-Clark (1853–1904). Swanswick, “a cottage-like and rambling house,” was a popular social center of the area and “a haven of good cheer for miles around” (Birdsall 208–9).
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benjamin holt ticknor 23 May [1884] ALS Yale University Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library 5
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3 Bolton St. Piccadilly May 23d Dear Mr. Ticknor. Please find with this the sheets, corrected, of “A Little Tour in France.” I have effaced the headings of the different chapters, or sections, simply numbered them straight on, as this is much less pretentious ponderous. But I have affixed a serious series of running headings to the pages—that is, to (or for) the right-hand page. Please put “A little Tour,” c on one page, throughout, on the other “Tours”—“Chambord”— “Bourges. The Cathedral”—c—as I have marked it, in red ink, in correspondence with the subjects. I don’t think that with this, considering the light nature of the volume, a table of contents will be necessary. I received a few days since the copies you sent me of “A New England Winter.” The Macmillans had sent me none of theirs, it didn’t occur to me to ask them for one until two or three days before yours arrived. Then I immediately sent off a few indispensable corrections in the text to Gilder (for the magazine) I send the same, or most of the same, herewith, to you for the plates. They are small not difficult to make, are of great importance.—As regards the titles of the short tales to make the new volume, they will be:— 1 Pandora. 2 The Author of Beltraffio. 3 Georgina’s Reasons. 4 The Path of Duty. 5 Four Meetings 128
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The 1st 3d of these are to appear in the New York Sunday Sun(!!!)—I don’t know when exactly, but very soon (these next weeks;) the 2d 4th in Macmillans Illustrated Magazine. I add Four Meetings, for you will remember that it was to have been included with Lady Barberina c—until that volume grew so stout. The place I mention will do very well for it. Beltraffio appears in the June July English Illustrated, The Path of Duty probably in the Sept October. By that time the 2d tale (that is, the 3d in my list) will have been published in the Sun— so that you will be able to get out the vol. by the end of the autumn. In this I should think it had better be called Pandora— an easy title. In this case you had better (I shld. think) get out the Little Tour as soon as possible—as the Tales of Four Three Cities are also to be allowed for— then my Century novel. It would be ready—the Tour—to be bought by autumn travellers, c! Yours ever Henry James No previous publication
128.20 necessary • ne- | cessary
128.27 • [ overwrites .]
129.3 Macmillans • [n malformed]
129.4 remember • re- | member
129.9 — • [— overwrites .]
128.10–11 “A Little Tour in France.” • A Little Tour in France.
128.25–26 Gilder (for the magazine) • Richard Watson Gilder pub-
lished “A New England Winter” in the August and September issues of the Century Magazine. 129.7–8 The Path of Duty probably in the Sept October • “The Path of Duty” appeared in the December issue of the English Illustrated Magazine.
129.8 the 2d tale • “Georgina’s Reasons.”
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129.10–11 the vol. by the end of the autumn • “The Author of Beltraffio,”
“Pandora,” “Georgina’s Reasons,” “The Path of Duty,” “Four Meetings” was not published until February 1885.
129.12–13 get out the Little Tour as soon as possible • A Little Tour in
France was published on 5 September 1884. 129.14–15 my Century novel • The Bostonians.
william james 10
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3 Bolton St. Piccadilly May 2 26th Dear William. I have just closed a letter to Alice, which, by the way, was written in 2 different sittings, at two several days apart; but I must add a few lines to you individually, to acknowledge your communication about Carrie Cranch c. I knew of the hapless condition of the latter—having had three or four crazy— but quite innocent—little notes from her. She was certainly predestined to become insane, her insanity connecting itself with me is a must be a pure accident. I say on this on account of the brevity of my contact with her. I saw her three or but four or five times, in Venice, never since but once last winter, in Cambridge, when I never dreamed that she was in this state. In Venice I took her two or three times to see some pictures— because the Cranches came to see me, they—or her father— appeared to be taking her nowhere. It is enough to cure one in future of all meddling—or at least idle—good-nature! It makes me frémir to think that she might have disembarked here. I am very sorry that her madness takes such an unhappy form; but it is not a thing about which I can do anything. I do not consider 130
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myself obliged to write to Cranch, in the least, or to be anything but ignorant irresponsible—the whole thing having been so extraneous, as it were, to me— unprovoked by any relations of mine (save those extremely slight ones, of a single moment, at Venice,) by with the unfortunate girl. I can only ignore it, regret it, being practically useless in the matter, not think of it. I hope she may die—it will be the best thing for her. But she probably won’t. Meanwhile I am very sorry you should be oppressed with her. It seems to me you have cares troubles enough. As regards Bob, I hardly know what to say or how to judge. If he wishes to stay in Milwaukee it appears a pity to draw him away. On the other hand it does seem probable that he is willing competent to do some respectable artistic work. I hope you may have been able to ascertain what he has done this winter, what improvement he has made what how soberly he has lived. If anything does offer —or is procurable— for him with La Farge or Crowninshild, I suppose he had better take it. His relations, actual or future, with his wife I give up! I only pray the Lord he may not give away his money again. Your quotation from Mary about the $400 a year is very bad. If I can help you with Bob in any definite way—i.e. pecuniarlily—please let me know. I have not heard from Carrie in some time— have not in some time written to her. Of course I should not object to Mrs. Gibbens taking Carrie’s place in the Syracuse property—if Carrie demands to realise. I have the hope— I think I may say the prospect—of being able, before very long, to buy off one (to begin with) of the Syracuse mortgages—i.e. to take $5000 more worth of the property. I have related to Alice your speech about criticism from Edmond Gurney. I don’t see him very often, I am afraid he is besotting himself with his ghost-hunting. I go on the 15th to spend a Sunday with F. Myers, at Cambridge. I h lately received a touching kind of note from T J. Warner, acknowledging the receipt of p Portraits of places. He wrestles with me for my immorality— 131
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it is the most New England thing possible. I sent a copy of the book to Auguste Laugel, when I was in Paris, thanking me for it, he said—“Vous êtes un moraliste; des hommes tels que vous font des bien à leur pays!” So many points of view are there. Warner’s note is a “document.”—I am happy to say I am drawing to the close of the various short things I have lately had to write— am attacking two novels—one serial of six months in the Century, one, to run a year (but not to begin till July 1885) in the Atlantic. The subjects of both, thank God, are big important; the treatment will be equally so. Therefore I must close this—the scourge of notes letters, here, continuing more or less, always. Ever your Henry ———— Previous publication: CWJ 1: 380–82
130.15 2 26th • [6 overwrites illegible character]
130.20 communication • communica- | tion
130.27 , • [, overwrites .]
131.15 improvement • improve- | ment
131.21 pecuniarlily • [misspelled]
132.32 h lately • [la overwrites h] 131.33 T J • [J overwrites T]
131.33 acknowledging • acknowl | edging
131.34 p Portraits • [P overwrites p]
130.32 frémir • shudder.
131.22 Carrie • Caroline “Carrie” James.
131.24 Mrs. Gibbens • Eliza Putnam Webb Gibbens (1827–1917),
mother of AHGJ and mother-in-law of WJ.
131.24–25 the Syracuse property • The James estate included three
properties—211, 213, and 217 South Salina Street in Syracuse, New York.
131.29 Edmond Gurney [. . .] ghost-hunting • Edmund Gurney
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1884 (1847–88), psychical researcher and psychologist. Gurney, along with Frederic Myers and Fred Podmore, was working on Phantasms of the Living, a study of hundreds of paranormal cases. WJ reviewed the volumes in 1887.
131.32 F. Myers • Frederic William Henry Myers.
131.33 J. Warner • Joseph Bangs Warner (1848–1923), Boston lawyer
who assisted the James family with the redivision and execution of Sr.’s will. Warner was also GWJ’s trustee.
132.3–4 “Vous êtes un moraliste; des hommes tels que vous font des
bien à leur pays!” • “You are a moralist; people like you do good things for their country.”
132.7 two novels • The Bostonians and The Princess Casamassima,
respectively.
james russell lowell 28 May [1884] ALS photocopy Creighton University
3 Bolton St. Piccadilly May 28th ———— My dear Minister. You are the most benevolent of men, the most punctual of readers, the most genial of critics! I shall come in a day or two to thank you, in each of these capacities. Meanwhile be assured that no one says to me such delightful things as you, or says them so—as if he knew what he is talking about. You shall have the next numbers without a guerdon or remuneration. I hope Mrs. Lowell has not been upset by the bad news you had to give her a few days since. You will tell me this when you next see yours very gratefully faithfully Henry James P.S. I dined last night with Lady Galloway, the charming; 133
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sat next to the Duchess of Cleveland, the ——? Are not eyes features? I don’t mean her grace’s.— No previous publication
133.24 benevolent • benev- | olent
133.24 punctual • punc- | tual
133.34 Lady Galloway • Mary Arabella Arthur Gascoyne-Cecil, Lady
Galloway (1850–1903), who married Alan Plantagenet Stewart, 10th Earl of Galloway (1835–1901), in 1872.
134.1 Duchess of Cleveland • Catherine Lucy Wilhelmina Powlett,
Duchess of Cleveland (1819–1901), English historian and author of History of Battle Abbey.
elizabeth boott [2 June] 1884 ALS Houghton 20
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3 Bolton St. W. 1884. Whitmonday. ———— My dear Lizzie. Your postcard revives all my remorse, already constantly felt, at having so long neglected your delightful welcome letter of—weeks ago. It lies before me now, in all its generous length—but I won’t mention the date of it, hoping you may have forgotten. With it came the beautiful photo. of your mother child which I ought long since to have thanked you for in a manner of commensurate with my admiration. I expressed this sentiment however (to myself the public) by having it immediately mounted framed, in the highest style of art, it 134
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now forms one of the principal ornaments of my sitting-room. It is very gooo good complete of a beautiful tone, would be, I think, the best thing you have done, if it were not for the charming little girl in white you send me to-day, who strikes me as even more brilliantly successful. She is most delicate exquisite, marks a great jump in your development. Is it a portrait, (to be paid for)—or an order— or an idea of your own? In any case tous mes compliments.—I have just come back from spending yesterday (whitsunday) with some friends near Godalming, though to-day is Bank Holiday London is supposed to be both dreary empty, I resisted all tempations to remain over till to morrow (at a lovely place) have returned to work— to you! My work awaits me (I have a great deal on hand am, as usual, behind with it) but I must have ten minutes’ chat with you before I can have my mind free for other lucubrations. This Whitsuntide period is one of those occasions when all London empties itself (socially speaking) for a week—precious moments of rest relief in its perpetual rush scramble. I am not dining out once this week—which is an eloquent proof of there being “nothing going on.” I shld. like to give you some news of the art-world—but the art-world here doesn’t produce any valuable incidents. The one that most concerns me is that Sargent was lately here for three weeks is to come back, in a day or two, for the month of June, to paint three or four English portraits, among others that of little Lady Playfair, whom you know. I saw shall probably see again a great deal of him; I was able, I think, to make things pleasant easy for him. I like him extremely (he is more intelligent about artistic things than all the painters here rolled together) in short we are excellent things. friends. He has had this year both a success (here) a failure, in Paris a failure which I judge to be pretty bad. His big portrait of Mrs. Henry White, at the Academy here, (she belongs to our Legation) is splendid delightful; she is in at full length (a very big canvas,) 135
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in white satin white lace, with a vague, pinkish, pearly background. It is a masterpiece (selon moi) of style tone, has had, among the artists, immense success. In the Grosvenor he has another portrait, far less good, of a certain English Mrs. Legh, in yellow satin, with a startled face a long, dislocated looking neck. It is a rather reckless ill-considered thing, (though full of life skill) has, I fear damaged him here as much as the Mrs. White has helped him. I want him to come here to live work—p there being such a field in London for both for a real painter of women, such magnificent subjects, of both sexes. He is afraid but he inclines, I think, this way, will probably end by coming. He has got all more than all— that Paris can give him— he can apply it here, I think, believe, as nowhere. His Madame Gautereau (at the Salon) has produced a kind of scandal—a full length of a so-called French beauty (femme du monde,) half-stripped covered with paint—blue, green, white, black. I saw it in his studio in the winter only half liked it. Sargent strikes me as being in rather a bad phase now—which is probably only transitory— has, at any rate, a certain sort of excess of cleverness: too much chic not enough naiveté. His character is charmingly naif, but not his talent. But I take a great interest in him, am very desirous to witness his future. He is intelligent en diable. I wish he would paint a picture. I took him one day to Burne Jones’s studio (to having first made B. J. dine with him) to see his big thing for this year’s Grosvenor, “King Cophetua the Beggar Maid”. Burne Jones is always adorable, we had a charming hour. Sargent enjoys appreciates his things in the highest degree—but I am afraid poor dear, lovely, but slightly narrow B. J. suffers from a constitutional incapacity to enjoy Sargent’s—finding in them “such a want of finish.” His great devotee, George Howard, said to me in front of Sargents portrait of Mrs. White that it must be only patriotism that could make me care for such a work as that! Burne-Jones’s Cophetua, however—all this doesn’t prevent 136
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it from being his finest thing, very beautiful interesting. I spent a charming day in the country with him the other day week; that is we went down to visit a common friend at Esher. I enclose you, for local colour’s sake, a note of his which alludes to the project. Also one of Du Maurier’s. Please keep them both—some day I shall perhaps ask you for them again. Also one from Sargent, to complete the trio— add to the spell I try to work, de vous attirer here. I did sit to Du Maurier—for five hours! the result is a pretty little head. But the picture, (not the watercolours) I grieve to say, is pale weak, I fear he is too late in the day to begin to paint successfully. Whenever I see him it is with affection pleasure, but Hampstead interposes long intervals. The exhibitions this year are rather more débile than usual. The Academy full of poor stuff, the Grosvenor no better. The best thing at the latter—putting Sargent’s Mrs. Legh apart—is an adorable big Whistler, a portrait of Lady Archibald Campbell. It is almost as good as the portrait of his Mother. Julian Story has a very clever skilful big Subject—Aesop telling fables, portrait (less good) of Cardinal Howard. He has a real talent but rather an uninteresting one, carries even further (with far less ability) Sargent’s danger— that of seeing the ugliness of things.—What shall I tell you di me? I am working prettiy steadily am having various things, long short, appearing to appear. I think of going abroad early this summer—in July— making for some quiet salubrious place in the southern Alps on the Tyrol. I haven’t lain on the grass for ten years, am dying to do so. The Realist is three or four doors off. She “located” first in 1/2 Moon St., two streets off; then moved up to Clarges St. the next: now, sever these several weeks, has been in Bolton St. itself! The nearer she comes the less I see of her, have seen very little all winter. She has a whirl of society here, is taken up by the aristocracy c, is a great social success, in spite of—of everything! The Costanza is handy, in Sloan St; is to remain, I believe, till August. 137
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But she is a most excellent, reasonable woman, absorbed in her work, upon whom I have not a single reflection to make. I like esteem her exceedingly. They never meet! I am delighted with your account of Alice—her dinners, c. I feel sadly alienated, by my own fault, from your dear Father but shall soon prove to him yet that I am his, as I am yours, ever affectionately Henry James Previous publication: HJL 3: 41–44
134.26 constantly • con- | stantly
134.28 before • [b overwrites illegible letter]
134.29 , • [, overwrites .]
134.32 admiration • ad- | miration
134.33 sentiment • senti- | ment
135.2 gooo good • [second o overwrites last oo] 135.5 She • [Sh overwrites illegible letters] 135.7 or • [r overwrites illegible letter]
135.8 compliments • com | pliments
135.12 tempations • [misspelled]
135.16 Whitsuntide • Whit- | suntide
135.24 come • [m malformed]
135.25 paint • [n malformed]
135.31 success • suc- | cess
136.9 p there • [th overwrites p] 136.9–10 for both • [bot overwrites for]
136.10 , • [, overwrites .]
136.19 • [blotted out]
136.24 ( • [( overwrites ,]
136.24–25 (t having • [h overwrites t]
136.26 • |
137.1 beautiful • beauti- | ful
137.23 prettiy • [misspelled]
137.28 located • loca= | ted
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137.29 • [blotted out]
137.34 • [blotted out]
138.6 affectionately • affection- | ately
134.17 elizabeth boott • Elizabeth “Lizzie” Boott (1846–88), daughter of Francis Boott (1813–1904), painter, and a longtime friend of the Jameses. Boott married Frank Duveneck, one of her art teachers and an important American painter, in March 1886. HJ supported Lizzie Boott’s artistic career and visited the Bootts at their Florence home in Bellosguardo. She is thought to have been a model for Pansy Osmond in The Portrait of a Lady.
134.30–31 your mother child • In 1884 Lizzie Boott exhibited her
painting Mother and Child (Doll and Richards Gallery 2; “The North-West Gallery” 175).
135.4 charming little girl in white • Likely Little Lady Blanche (current-
ly at the Huntsville Museum of Art), Boott’s well-reviewed painting that she exhibited in the fall of 1884 at the National Academy of Design. One reviewer described it as “the only interesting portrait shown this time” (“Academy of Design” 5).
135.8 tous mes compliments • congratulations.
135.23 Sargent • See HJ’s 1887 essay on Sargent, which recalls some of
these same impressions (esp. pp. 690–91).
135.26 Lady Playfair • Sargent’s Edith, Lady Playfair.
136.2 selon moi • in my opinion.
136.14–15 Madame Gautereau (at the Salon) has produced a kind of m
scandal • Sargent’s painting, originally titled Portrait de M *** (also known as Portrait of Madame Gautreau and now known as Portrait of Madame X ). HJ wrote that the painting “had not the good fortune to please the public at large, and I believe it even excited a kind of unreasoned scandal—an idea sufficiently amusing in the light of some of the manifestations of the plastic effort to which, each year, the Salon stands sponsor” (“John S. Sargent” 691).
136.24 Burne Jones’s studio • 49 North End Road, in West Kensington
(see Bell 40; Champlin 1: 222).
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136.31 George Howard • George Howard (1843–1911), English artist
and politician and friend of Edward Burne-Jones.
137.3–4 a common friend at Esher • Charles Napier Lawrence, whom
HJ visited in late May.
137.8 de vous attirer • to get you to come [here].
137.14 débile • stupid, silly.
137.16–17 an adorable big Whistler, a portrait of Lady Archibald Camp-
bell • James McNeill Whistler’s Arrangement in Black: La Dame au brodequin jaune—Portrait of Lady Archibald Campbell was shown at the Grosvenor Gallery’s 1884 summer exhibition. Janey Sevilla, Lady Archibald Campbell (1846–1923), was an author and theater producer. Her book Rainbow Music or The Philosophy of Harmony in Colour-G rouping was influenced by Whistler.
137.18–19 Julian Story has a very clever skilful big Subject—Aesop
telling fables • Julian Russell Story (1857–1919), American painter and son of William Wetmore Story (1819–95) and Emelyn Eldredge Story (1821– 94). Julian Russell Story showed his Aesop’s Fables at the Grosvenor Gallery’s 1884 summer exhibition. One critic wrote that the picture “shows abundant evidence of sound training in a French studio, and some mastery over facial expression” (Phillips 356).
137.19–20 Cardinal Howard • Story exhibited Cardinal Howard at the
1884 Grosvenor Gallery summer exhibition, and Claude Phillips described it as being “unfortunate in colour, and entirely lack[ing] the distinction which the subject requires” (356). 137.22–23 di me • about myself.
137.27 The Realist • An acquaintance of HJ and Elizabeth Boott for
several years, at least (see HJ to Elizabeth Boott, 13 September [1878], CLHJ, 1876–1878 2: 202, 203n202.24, and 9 October [1878], 30 October [1878], 11 February [1879], and 4 May [1879], CLHJ, 1878–1880 1: 11, 29, 108, 164).
137.33 The Costanza • Constance Fenimore Woolson (1840–94),
American author and great-niece of James Fenimore Cooper.
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charles eliot norton 3 June [1884] ALS Houghton bMS Am 1088 (3872)
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3 Bolton St. June 3d ———— Dear Charles. Welcome to Albion! Only a word to say that my upper rooms are quite at your service—where you will perhaps have more space to turn than at Roy’s hotel. They will be ready for you any time you may arrive tomorrow,—only excuse a baddish bed, many incumbrances of my own. Yours ever, in haste H James
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Charles Eliot Norton esq. Roy’s Hotel 6 Green St. Grosvenor Square W.
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[Postmark:] LONDON • W. 3 JU 3 84 3 W 42 No previous publication
141.1 charles eliot norton • Charles Eliot Norton (1827–1908) was an influential author, editor, and scholar. He was professor of the history of fine art at Harvard (1873–98), translated Dante, edited the North American Review (1864–68), and was one of the founders of the Nation. He lived near the James family in Cambridge and was an early mentor of HJ, publishing some of his first review articles and introducing him in 1869 to
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141.10 Welcome to Albion! • Charles Eliot Norton left Boston on
24 May and arrived in England on 3 June aboard the Cephalonia.
141.10–11 my upper rooms are quite at your service • Norton must have
accepted HJ’s offer (see HJ to Edwin Lawrence Godkin, 17 June [1884], p. 149).
141.20 Roy’s hotel • Roy’s Private Hotel, 3 Green Street, Grosvenor
Square, London.
edmund gosse 5 June [1884] Copy-text Moore, Gosse 15
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3 Bolton St. W. June 5th Dear Gosse. I wonder if you can tell me—I don’t know—whether I can have a friend invited for a month to the Savile? The friend is J. S. Sargent, the painter, who comes over from Paris in a day or two, to whom the said Savile will be convenient. (He is to be here a few weeks, painting some portraits.) I don’t know whether one can do this at the Savile, nor how one does it— if my young man needs a seconder, would you very kindly stand as such? and would you still more kindly drop me a line of instruction? I thank you in advance, am ever yours Henry James Previous publication: Moore, Gosse 31
142.17 June 5th • [copy-text reads June 5th]
142.22 • [copy-text reads &]
142.24 • [copy-text reads &]
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142.27 • [copy-text reads &]
142.28 Henry James • [copy-text reads Henry James]
142.20 the Savile • The Savile Club, located at 107 Piccadilly at the
time but now located at 69 Brook Street. It was founded in 1868 (Savile Club); HJ was an elected member of the Savile Club from 1884 to 1899, although he had had a temporary membership since at least 1877.
john milton hay
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[5 June 1884] ALS Brown University John Hay Collection
Thursday ———— Dear Hay. Delighted, on Sunday at ten. Yours ever H. James Previous publication: Monteiro 96
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james payn 6 June [1884] ALS Fales Manuscript Collection, Fales Library, New York University Henry James Manuscripts 5
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REFORM CLUB, PALL MALL.S.W.
June 6th ———— 11 a.m. ———— My dear Payn. Will you do me a great favour? i.e. affix your name as seconder to the enclosed invitation, , giving my respectful compliments to Robinson, ask him to kindly do the same. This will find you, as I calculate, at the genial hour of lunch, so that you won’t be in a suspicious humour. You don’t know my friend Sargent, but you must can trust him—he is both amiable distinguished. I have been breakfasting here, as I always often do, when you are absorbing chops lemon squashes, I shall be driving a lonely pen. That is why you haven’t oftener at one oclock a visitation from yours ( Robinson’s) ever H. James P.S. Will you kindly after signature, hand the document, in its cover, to a waiter, to be given to the Secretary? ———— No previous publication
144.19 chops • [c overwrites illegible letter]
144.1 james payn • Payn (1830–98) was a novelist and editor whose 1866 Mirk Abbey was dedicated to Dickens.
144.2 [1884] • In June 1884 HJ was securing invitations for John
Singer Sargent for several social outings, in particular, to gentlemen’s
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1884 clubs (see HJ to Edmund Gosse, 5 June [1884] and 24 June [1884], pp. 142, 158).
144.14 Robinson • Likely John Richard Robinson (1828–1903), jour-
nalist, manager, and later editor of the Daily News. Payn and Robinson were Reform Club members along with HJ.
144.17 Sargent • John Singer Sargent. It is not clear what was the na-
ture of the invitation, though it might have been related to the Savile Club invitation HJ asked Edmund Gosse about on 5 June (p. 142).
edmund gosse 9 June [1884] ALS Leeds University BC Gosse Correspondence 15
3 Bolton St. W. June 9th ———— My dear Gosse. Thanks—many—for your note about Beltraffio. I am delighted you see some life in it have an appetite for the rest. Of course it is tragic—almost (I fear) repulsively so. But the 2d part is better-written than the 1st, I agree with you in thinking that the thing is more solid than many of my things. I feel it to be more packed—more complete. But I shall do much better yet! Meanwhile you obey a very humane inspiration whenever you murmur bravo! in in the ear of the much-attempting slowly-composing, easily-discouraged, constantly dissatisfied fictionist— your ever grateful Henry James p.s. Perhaps I have divined the innermost cause of J. A. S.’s discomfort—but I don’t think I seize, on p. 571, exactly the allusion you refer to. I am therefore devoured with curiosity as to this further revelation. Even a post-card (in covert 145
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words) would relieve the suspense of the perhaps-already-too- indiscreet-H. J. Previous publication: Moore, Gosse 31–32; Horne 157
145.25 complete • com- | plete
145.26 Meanwhile • Mean | while
145.26 inspiration • [s inserted]
145.27 in the • [th overwrites in]
146.2 indiscreet • indis- | creet
145.31–32 the innermost cause of J. A. S.’s discomfort • The “dis-
comfort” to which HJ refers was probably related to John Addington Symonds’s (“J. A. S.’s”) closeted homosexuality.
145.32 on p. 571 • On page 571 the narrator of HJ’s “The Author of
‘Beltraffio’” intimates that “in his books,” Mark Ambient (a writer modeled on Symonds) “had only said half of his thought” and “kept back [. . .] the richer part” because of his “dread of scandal.” Symonds had written A Problem in Greek Ethics, a tender eulogy to “Greek love” in 1873, but only published it privately ten years later.
lady louisa erskine wolseley 10 June [1884] 25
ALS University of Virginia Library Clifton Waller Barrett Library of American Literature, Special Collections, Papers of Henry James, MSS 6251-a, box 2, folder 2
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3 Bolton St. W June 10th ———— Dear Lady Wolseley. Alas, alas, I am quite unable to give myself just now the pleasure of lunching out—being furiously engaged pressed 146
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with work, struggling with a 1000 other engagements. I thank you very gratefully for your friendly proposal, beg you to believe that the sternest necessity alone compels me to say that my salvation at present depends upon my not going into the world before five o’clock. I trust to find you yet, after that mystic hour. Very faithfully yours H James
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147.1 with • [w overwrites —]
146.23 lady louisa erskine wolseley • Lady Louisa Erskine Wolseley (1843–1920), wife of Sir Garnet Joseph Wolseley (1833–1913), who had led British soldiers in the Battle of Tel-el-Kebir during the Egypt War of 1882.
george washburn smalley 12 June [1884]
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ALS Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin MS James, H. Letters; James, Henry. Works, letters A–Z box: James, Henry letters folder
June 12th ———— Dear Smalley. Alas, it’s as I feared. I am engaged on Friday 20th to dine go to the German opera! Woefully yours H James No previous publication
147.29 Woefully yours H James • [written across the letter]
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147.19 george washburn smalley • Smalley (1833–1916) was an American journalist and London-based correspondent for the New York Tribune.
147.29 German opera • Probably Richard Wagner’s The Flying Dutch-
man, performed at the Covent Garden Theatre on 20 June 1884.
edwin lawrence godkin 10
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3 Bolton St. Piccadilly ———— June 17th My dear Godkin. I congratulate you very heartily on the pleasant news you send me of in your letter of the 1st. It represents, to my sympathetic soul, a great deal of happiness, cheer and comfort, I give you, your wife, the blessing of my elderly—my envious—bachelorhood. I shall regard you in future more or less as my children. Please to give my friendliest regards to your wife tell her how glad I am that I have not—thanks to the pleasure I have had in seeing her of old—to make an effort of imagination to include her among my nearer friends. That is easily done, for she was already much in danger of leaning into that valued circle. You couldn’t possibly (I think) have married some any one I didn’t like; but you might have had the perversity to marry some one I didn’t know. With the apparent increase of your incorrigible delays to show yourself over here, this would have meant a long postponement of acquaintance. But, as it is, I can think of both of you very naturally at once, that is a comfort—a convenience—in my transatlantic glances. Be 148
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happy, but don’t consider your situation in the U. S. too much improved to make it necessary to seek superficial joys over here. Europe will be all the better when you bring Mrs. Godkin to it.—For myself, I am not to be married; but short of that, I am doing well enough. London is in its most detestable period; I dislike it more more during this scrambling, squeezing May June July. Charles Norton is staying with me—but he doesn’t console me for your non-arrival. I wish you had described your new circumstances a little more—told me where you are going to live, to spend your Summer c. I want to see you there, if I can’t see you here. I should like to provoke ( don’t despair of doing it) your wife to write to yours ( hers) ever faithfully Henry James. No previous publication
148.31 yourself • your- | self
149.4 married • mar- | ried
149.7 • [ overwrites .]
148.18 the pleasant news • Godkin married American socialite
Katharine Sands (1846–1907), his second wife, on 14 June 1884 in New York City. 149.7 Charles Norton is staying with me • HJ had invited Norton to stay with him at 3 Bolton Street upon Norton’s arrival in London (HJ to Charles Eliot Norton, 3 June [1884], p. 141).
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benjamin holt ticknor 17 June [1884] ALS Yale University Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library 5
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Za James 18–23 (22)
3 Bolton St. W. June 17th Dear Mr. Ticknor. I just find your letter of the 4th— acknowldging the receipt of the l Little Tour copy and speaking of my failure to see that the notice of my American copyright was printed on Beltraffio. Of this failure I am very much ashamed— can give no excuse for it but my cursed inadvertence. You had written to me that you would copyright the title, I stupidly absent-mindedly inferred from this that there was nothing more to be done. As the Macmillans (having no interest in the matter) didn’t take the trouble to supply my deficiency the thing went forth in the unprotected manner in which you will have seen it. The worst of it is that it is too late to do anything with the Part II. That is already printed, the sheets, without the notification, have been sent to America. It is a ne nuisance, the fault is that of my laisser-aller disposition; but the thing shall never again be omitted I can only hope I shall not suffer much. It was so easy to do! Yours—very shamefully— Henry James No previous publication
150.10 acknowldging • [misspelled]
150.10 receipt • re- | ceipt
150.11 l Little • [L overwrites l] 150.24 omitted • [om overwrites illegible letters]
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150.11–12 my failure to see that the notice of my American copyright •
When “The Author of ‘Beltraffio’” first appeared in the English Illustrated Magazine, HJ neglected to include a formal notice protecting his copyright in the United States. Without that notice and that protection, the work was vulnerable to piracy in America. 150.23 laisser-aller • easygoing.
alphonse daudet
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19 June [1884] ALS Houghton bMS Am 1094.1 (14)
3 Bolton St. Piccadilly W. London. 19 Juin. ———— Mon cher Alphonse Daudet. J’aurais dû deja vous remercier de tout le plaisir que vous m’avez fait en m’envoyant Sapho. Je vous suis très-reconnaissant de cette bonne et amicale pensée, qui s’ajoutera désormais, pour moi, au souvenir du livre. Je n’avais pas attendu l’arrivée de votre volume pour le lire—mais cela m’a donné l’occasion de m’y remettre encore et de tirer un peu au clair les diverses impressions que tant d’admirables pages m’ont laissées. Je n’essaierai pas de vous rapporter ces impressions dans leur plénitude—dans la crainte de ne réussir qu’à deformer ma pensée—tout autant que la vôtre. Un nouveau livre de vous me fait passer par l’esprit une foule de belles idées, que je vous confierais de vive voix—et de grand coeur—si j’avais le bonheur de vous voir plus souvent. Pour le moment je vous dirai seulement que tout ci qui vient de vous compte, pour moi, comme un grand évènement, une jouissance rare et fructueuse. 151
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Je vous aime mieux dans certaines pages que dans d’autres, mais vous me charmez, vous m’enlevez toujours, et votre manière me pénêtre plus qu’aucune autre. Je trouve dans Sapho énormément de vérité et de vie. Ce n’est pas du roman, c’est de l’histoire, et de la plus complète et de la mieux éclairée. Lorsqu’on a fait un livre aussi solide et aussi sérieux que celui-là, on n’a besoin d’être rassuré par personne; ce n’est donc que pour m’encourager moi même que je duire je constate dans Sapho encore une preuve—à ajouter à celles que vous avez deja données—de tout ce que le roman peut accomplir comme révélation de la vie et du drôle de mélange que nous sommes. La fille est étudieé avec une patience merveilleuse; c’est un de ces portraits qui épuisent un type. Je vous avouerai que je trouve le jeune homme un peu sacrifié—comme étude et comme recherche—sa figure me paraissant moins éclairé —en comparaison de celle de la femme— qu’il ne le faudrait pour l’interêt moral—la valeur tragique. J’aurais voulu que vous nous eussiez fait voir davantage par où il a passé—en matière d’experience plus personnelle et plus intime encore que les coucheries avec Fanny—en matière de rammollissement de volonté et de relâchement d’âme. I En un mot, le drame ne se passe peut être pas assez dans l’âme et dans la conscience même de Jean Gaussin. C’est à mesure que nous touchons à son caractère même que la situation devient intéressant—et ce qu caractère, vous me faites l’effet de l’avoir un peu négligé. Vous me direz que voilà un jugement bien anglais, et que nous inventons des abstractions, comme nous disons, a fin de nous dispenser de toucher aux grosses réalit réalités. J’estime pourtant qu’il n’y a rien de plus réel, de plus positif, de plus à peindre, qu’un caractère; c’est là qu’on trouve bien la cole couleur et la forme. Vous l’avez bien prouvé, du reste, dans chacun de vos livres, en vous disant que vous avez laissé l’amant de Sapho un peu trop en blanc, c’est ce n’est qu’avec vous même que je vous compare. Mais je ne voulais que vous remercier et répondre à votre envoi. Je vous souhaite tout 152
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le repos qu’il vous faudra pour recommencer encore! Je garde de cette soirée que j’ai passée chez vous au mois de Février une impression toute colorée. Je vous prie de me rappeler au souvenir bienviellant de Madame Daudet, je vous serre la main et suis votre bien dévoué confrère Henry James. Previous publication: Lubbock 1: 108–9; HJL 3: 44–46; Horne 158–59
151.19 deja • [misspelled]
151.21 désormais • désor- | mais
151.27 deformer • [misspelled]
151.30 confierais • con- | fierais
152.3 pénêtre • [misspelled]
152.9 deja • [misspelled]
152.11 étudieé • [misspelled]
152.15 paraissant • parais- | sant
152.18 d’experience • [misspelled]
152.20 rammollissement • rammollisse- | ment; [misspelled]
152.20 relâchement • relâche- | ment
152.20 I En • [E overwrites I]
152.21 peut être • peut | être
152.27–28 réalit réalités • [second é overwrites illegible letter]
153.4 bienviellant • [misspelled]
151.18–153.6 Mon cher Alphonse Daudet. [. . .] Henry James. • My dear
Alphonse Daudet. I should have already thanked you for all the pleasure that you have given me by sending me Sapho. I am very grateful to you for this good and friendly thought that from now on will add to the memory of the book for me. I had not been waiting for the arrival of your volume to read it, but that gave me the chance to get back to it again and to clarify the various impressions that so many admirable pages left with me. I will not try to relate all these impressions in their fullness out of fear of ending up dis-
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The Complete Letters of Henry James torting my thought as much as yours. A new book from you causes a host of pleasant ideas to pass through my head, and I would entrust them to you wholeheartedly and in person, if I had the good fortune of seeing you more often. For the moment I will tell you only that anything that comes from you counts for me as a great event and a rare and fruitful enjoyment. I like you better on certain pages than on others, but you charm me, you always lift me up, and your method gets through to me more than any other. I find in Sapho an enormous amount of truth and life. It is not only a novel, it is history and of the most complete and most enlightened kind. When one makes a book as solid and as serious as this one, one does not need to be reassured by anyone; it is therefore only to encourage myself that I note in Sapho a proof—to add to those that you have already given about all that the novel can accomplish as a revelation about life and about the bizarre mix that we are. The girl is studied with marvelous patience; this is one of those portraits that exhaust a fellow. I will admit to you that I find the young man a bit sacrificed—in terms of study and analysis, with his figure seeming less clarified than it should be —in comparison with that of the woman— for moral interest—the tragic value. I wish that you had shown us more of what he goes through—in terms of a more personal and intimate experience, besides bedtimes with Fanny— in terms of softening of the will and weakening of the soul. In a word, the drama perhaps does not occur enough in the soul and the consciousness of Jean Gaussin. It is to the extent that we touch his character itself that the situation becomes interesting— and, as to this character, you leave the impression with me of having neglected him a little. You will tell me that that is a judgment that is very English and that we invent some abstractions, as we say, in order to dispense with our touching the harsh realities. However, I believe that there is nothing more real, more positive, more to be painted than a character; it is there that one really finds color and form. Besides, you have proven it well in each of your books; so, by telling you that you have left Sapho’s lover a little blank, I am only comparing you with yourself here. But I only wanted to thank you and respond to the mailing from you. I wish you all the rest that is necessary for you to get going again! I keep a vivid memory of the evening that I spent with you
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1884 in February. Please convey to Madame Daudet my pleasant recollection. I shake your hand and remain your very devoted colleague. Henry James. 151.20 Sapho • Daudet’s novel Sapho was published in 1884.
152.19 Fanny • Fanny Legrand, a central character in Sapho.
152.22 Jean Gaussin • A character in Sapho; he is seduced by Fanny
Legrand.
153.4 Madame Daudet • Julia Allard Daudet.
george du maurier 19 June [1884] ALS Houghton bMS Am 1094 (639) 15
3 Bolton St. W. June 19th ———— Dear du Maurier. You always please me, but you please me most when you let me feel that I have pleased you! I am afraid you had the notice in the uncorrected proof, with all its odious errors. It was full of misprints. I am delighted to hear that Miss Trixie has named the day. If I am still in England then, she may certainly count on me. I give her my blessing— her young man— her old man! Ever yours H James Bien sur—I will come lunch walk before I disperse! No previous publication
155.27 Bien [. . .] disperse! • [written across the letter’s first page]
155.27 sur • [misspelled]
155.22 uncorrected proof • Notes (No. 15 of a Series) by Mr. Henry James
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155.23 Miss Trixie has named the day • Beatrix Clara Isabel Busson
Du Maurier (1864–1913), oldest child of George and Emma Wightwick Du Maurier (b. c. 1841), married Charles Christian Hoyer Millar (1860– 1942) on 26 July 1884.
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155.27 Bien sur • Of course.
isabella stewart gardner 21 June [1884] ALS Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
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3 Bolton St. W. July June 21st ———— Dear Mrs. Gardner. Don’t really say such cruel things to me! I am certainly not unkind—I am soft humane— I don’t think I am frivolous. I assure you I never dreamed of saying anything that would not seem to you essentially friendly, if I took a jocose evasive (!) tone, it was partly to conceal my irritation in not being able to get away from London, partly to conjure away any little irritation you might feel by trying to amuse you a little. And to think that I only displeased you! Life is decidedly too hard, it’s no use trying.—I don’t know who my “friend” may be who has served me so well—auprès de vous—by telling you that I am steeped in vanities here, I hope that by this time he may have caught typhus fever, or been drowned in the lagoon, or tumbled from the campanile, or something of that kind. When I say he, I mean she; such malignity could only come from a woman. I am busier than I have ever been, doing my best to stem the tide of London interruptions. It is true they are innumerable, London is hateful to me in June July, I loathe it more, every year, at this particular period, there is therefore some truth in the 156
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rumour that I am trying to get away as soon as possible. Why do you come so late—to an exhausted exasperated society? By the first week in July every one is hot, weary, cross, impatient, panting for the end, épuisé. I have a plan of going to the smallest dullest hole in Switzerland on July 1st: but I shan’t execute it—I can’t— if you come, I won’t. I shall hope still to be here when you arrive—if you are not inordinately late, if you will tell me that I am not frivolous unkind but serious tender, I shall be here also when you depart! I will drive with you in the gondola of London, the casual hansom, failing that of Venice. I hope your journey northward will be short comfortable— if I can do anything here before you arrive to facilitate your advent, I shall be delighted. Very faithfully yours Henry James Previous publication: Zorzi 120–21
156.28 tumbled • [m malformed]
156.32 interruptions • in- | terruptions
157.9 , • [ overwrites ,; first , inserted]
157.10 London • Lon- | don
157.12 comfortable • com- | fortable
156.26 auprès de vous • with you.
157.4 épuisé • worn out.
157.4–5 I have a plan of going to [. . .] Switzerland on July 1st • HJ did
not visit Switzerland again until 1888.
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edmund gosse 24 June [1884] ALS Colby College Special Collections, Waterville, Maine 5
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Dear Gosse. I am greatly obliged to you for my seconding my young man in the face of your scruples, feel that my request was truly indiscreet. When I made it I had not the least idea it was irregular—or of course I would have fore forborne. I supposed that seconding (for a short introduction) was a mere matter of form, that knowing the proposer, for the seconder, was tantamount to knowing the individual invited. This is the case at the Reform, where my limited observation of club- manners has mainly been acquired, where, since I have been a member no one that I have proposed has (so far as I recollect) been seen either before or after by the member seconding. In a smaller club, however, it doubtless matters more—as it should do, I shall be more regular in future. Thanks again for your stretching the point. ▬ My invité shall be taught to dissimulate—or, rather, to simulate, I think I can promise you that no catastrophe will ensue. I was just about to answer your note about Sunday next. I have promised to pay about—“29 distinct damnations,” as Browning says, on that afternoon—but am not without hope of arriving, more blessedly, at Delamore Terrace, somewhat latish. I will bring Sargent if I can put my hand on him, at any rate you must come meet him at dinner as soon as I can get him to name a day. I will then propose it to you. Yours ever Henry James 3 Bolton St. June 24th ————
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158.9 fore forborne • [r overwrites re]
158.13–14 club- | manners • club-manners
158.19 point. • [. inserted]
158.21 catastrophe • catas- | trophe
158.25 somewhat • some- | what
158.27–32 as soon as I can [. . .] June 24th ———— • [written across the
letter’s first page]
158.6–7 seconding my young man • John Singer Sargent (see HJ to
Edmund Gosse, 5 June [1884], p. 142).
158.17 smaller club • The Savile Club (see HJ to Edmund Gosse,
5 June [1884], p. 142).
158.23 “29 distinct damnations,” • In his “Soliloquy of the Spanish
Cloister,” Robert Browning observes, There is a great text in Galatians, Once you trip on it, entails Twenty-nine distinct damnations, One sure, if another fails. (49–52)
158.25 Delamore Terrace • Edmund Gosse lived at 29 Delamere Ter-
race in London.
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sir william henry gregory 25 June [1884] ALS The Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature, New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and 5
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3 Bolton St. W. June 25th ———— Dear Sir William Gregory. I have waited to answer your kind invitation to lunch on Friday until I should know whether I am free—an engagement for that day having been hanging over my head. I regret very much to say that I have had to settle in such a way that I am deprived of the pleasure of lunching with you. I shall give myself the pl compensation of seeing you Lady Gregory soon, remain with many thanks very faithfully Henry James No previous publication
160.17 pl compensation • [c overwrites pl]
160.1 sir william henry Gregory • Sir William Henry Gregory (1816–92) was an Irish Liberal politician.
160.17 Lady Gregory • Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (1852–1932),
Irish playwright, nationalist, and second wife (m. 1880) of Sir William Henry Gregory.
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charles eliot norton 1 July [1884] ALS Houghton bMS Am 1088 (3873)
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3 Bolton St. W. July 1st ———— Dear Charles. Your letters shall go to Warwick punctually as you direct; there has only been one, as yet, to be forwarded, but various larger parcels await your return, upon your table. I have followed you, in imagination, through these beautiful days, have no difficulty in believing in your pleasant impressions, in Sally’s even less. London itself is full of the sense of summer— yesterday I even went on a picnic—to Chenies, in Hertfordshire, a beautiful old park of the Russells. To counteract this, however, I took an American authoress, in the evening, to see Sarah Bernhardt! I envy you the company of your lake mountains— even that of your erratic host, if his conversation is as entertaining as his publications. Come back when you are tired—which I hope you won’t be soon, though I should like to have you back. I know Warwickshire pretty well, my thoughts will go with you there at the hour when the elms through their long shadows over the meadows. Love to your three Graces. Ever, faithfully yours H James
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Charles Eliot Norton Esq. Post office Warwick.
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[Partially legible postmarks:] LONDON • W. JY 1 84 3 W 42[;] W 42 No previous publication
161.19 counteract • counter- | act
161.11 Warwick • Norton reached Warwick, which he used as a base for
sightseeing in the area, on 2 July 1884 (Norton, Letters 163).
161.17 Chenies • Chenies Manor House, in Buckinghamshire.
161.18 Russells • Francis Charles Hastings Russell, 9th Duke of Bed-
ford (1819–1891) and Lady Elizabeth Sackville-West Russell (1818–1897).
161.19–20 American authoress [. . .] see Sarah Bernhardt • HJ accom-
panied Constance Fenimore Woolson to the Gaiety Theatre to see Sarah Bernhardt in Fédora.
161.21 your erratic host • After touring several towns and their cathe-
drals, Norton stayed with John Ruskin at his home, Brantwood, in Cumbria, England. Norton had commented on Ruskin’s unstable psychological state since at least 1868 (Turner 225).
161.27 three Graces • Theodora Sedgwick (1851–1915), Sarah “Sally”
Norton (1864–1922), and Margaret Burne-Jones (1866–1953) accompanied Norton on the approximately ten-day cathedral tour and visit to Ruskin at Brantwood.
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william jones hoppin 3 July [1884] AL Houghton bMS Am 986, Vol. XI 5
3 Bolton St. W. July 3d ———— Mr. Henry James regrets extremely the continued illness of his Excellency, accepts with the greatest pleasure his Excellency’s invitation for Saturday 12th.
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163.1 william jones hoppin • Hoppin (1813–95) served as first secretary of the American Legation in London from 1876 to 1886. A lawyer by training, Hoppin also published articles on art.
163.9–10 his Excellency • James Russell Lowell.
jessie percy butler duncan phipps 5 July [1884] ALS Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin PS 2110 F07b volume 1 25
3 Bolton St. W. ———— Dear Mrs. Phipps. It will give me very great pleasure to dine with you on Thursday next. Yours very faithfully Henry James July 5th
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163.21 jessie percy butler duncan phipps • Phipps (1855–1934) was an American education activist and the wife (m. 1876) of William Wilton Phipps (1847–1911). Phipps was related to John Singer Sargent through her mother, Jane Sargent Duncan (1833–1905). Phipps moved to England in 1880.
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benjamin holt ticknor 5 July [1884] ALS Library of Congress Benjamin Holt Ticknor Papers, 1595–1935 MSS 42929, box 11
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July 5th ———— Dear Mr. Ticknor. There are 2 misprints in the last part of Lady B. ( July Century)—still to be corrected in the plates. Account on p. 339, left column, 10th line, should be accent. accent. On p. 347, right column 13th line: he chose, should be: she chose. Please have this mended, oblige Yours ever Henry James No previous publication
164.19 Lady B. • “Lady Barberina.”
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edwin austin abbey 12 July [1884 or 1885] ALS Houghton bMS Am 1429 (2548) 5
July 12th ———— 3 Bolton St. ———— Dear Abbey. Very happy indeed to dine on Friday. Bless you! Ever yours H. James
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165.2 [1884 or 1885] • 1884 and 1885 are the only years when HJ both
was at 3 Bolton Street on 12 July and no longer signed his name with “Jr.”
sir edward bruce hamley
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3 Bolton St. W. July 14th ———— Dear Sir Edward. Please don’t think me unsociable if ask for another postponement of our visit of Friday afternoon. My engagements just now are so numerous, so many of my country people are in London, with whom I have constant appointments, that I can scarcely call an hour my own—as distinguished from other people’s. It is necessary that I should go into the country on 165
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Friday, as I can go (with a compatriot) only on that day— I therefore beg you to let me wait take another occasion for our visit to Mrs. Lord. She is permanent, I imagine here, my present entanglements are I trust, fleeting; so that, remin if I remind you in a calmer hour of your amiable offer you will not be unable to guide my bashful steps to Park Lane. I send meanwhile many thanks regrets (for the moment) to the lady, am ever yours, very truly Henry James No previous publication
165.34 necessary • ne- | cessary
166.4 entanglements • entangle- | ments
165.20 sir edward bruce hamley • Hamley (1824–93) served as a general under Lord Wolseley in the Anglo-Egyptian War and was later a Conservative MP. HJ had known Hamley since 1879.
165.21 [1884 or 1885] • 1884 and 1885 are the only years when HJ both
was at 3 Bolton Street on 12 July and no longer signed his name with “Jr.”
166.3 Mrs. Lord • Likely Janet Hay Lord (1835–1908), wife of business-
man John Taylor Lord (1833–1903), who was a founder and owner of Lord and Taylor department store in New York City. In 1884 the Lords resided at 38 Park Lane, London. Their daughter, Janet Gifford (1859–1940), married Capt. Peter Fisher Percival Hamilton (1851–96), a military friend of Hamley, in 1883. Hamley signed their marriage certificate as a witness (“Marriage of Peter Percival Hamilton”).
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thomas wemyss reid 14 July [1884 or 1885] ALS Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin MS James, H. Letters; James, Henry. Works, letters A–Z box: James, Henry letters folder
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3 Bolton St. Piccadilly W. July 14th ———— Dear Wemyss Reid. Your friendly note, on behalf of the Leeds Philosophical Literary Society both gratifies me—much— distresses me; the former because I feel flattered honoured by such a proof of consideration from that enlightened body, the latter because it always costs one a pang to plead incompetence in regard to a request which it would give one as much pleasure to carry out (were it possible) as it could—even with the most liberal construction of the matter—give to others. Behold, in that interminable sentence, a specimen of what I should inflict on your kindly audience if I should be let loose upon them! Very seriously, please believe that it is with great regret that I say that I absolutely don’t see my way to undertaking a lecture at l Leeds. It is not in the smallest degree in my line to speak in public. I have no fitness for it whatever, no experience or practice of it—nothing to say—viva voce— no vox, or any other faculty, to say it with. I am incapable, inconvertible impossible. Please give my thanks to the Society, very cordially, for their friendly thought express my regret at being so poor a creature. If any lingering doubt (as to my being able to grapple with such an occasion) should survive in your mind I undertake to remove it effectually the very next time I have the pleasure of meeting you at the Reform club. Believe me meanwhile faithfully yours Henry James 167
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167.15 consideration • consid- | eration
167.15 enlightened • en= | lightened
167.16 incompetence • in- | competence
167.23 l Leeds • [L overwrites l]
167.27 incapable • in- | capable
167.31 undertake • under- | take
167.32 effectually • effect= | ually
167.33 meanwhile • mean= | while
167.1 thomas wemyss reid • Newspaper writer and editor, Reid (1842–1905) had worked since 1867 for the Leeds Mercury. He became editor of the paper in 1870 and opened a London office in 1873.
167.2 [1884 or 1885] • These are the only two summers during which
HJ was at 3 Bolton Street on July 14 and no longer used “Jr.” in his signature.
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3 Bolton St. W. July 15th ———— Dear Mrs. Lewis. On Sunday 20th I shall be delighted—but I shall not, I am very sorry to say, be able to come down on the Saturday afternoon. Do you know I hadn’t definitely understood that the 20th was fixed—or if I had, had not duly counted the 19th into the engagement? I find myself confronted with an engagement to dine with Chamberlain on Saturday— it has been in my 168
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book these three weeks. It was perhaps—indeed probably—there when we last spoke about my visit to Walton, yet I hadn’t it on that occasion in mind. By an early train on Monday Sunday a.m. I will present myself, bide till the following morn. (That word is not hide but bide.) This abbreviated arrival will, I trust,
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distress me you less than it does me, will still leave me at least time to be a very happy as well as a very faithful Henry James I shall take the 10.15 from Waterloo; but please don’t send for me. I will catch the casual fly.
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168.31 definitely • defin- | itely
168.34 Chamberlain • Joseph Chamberlain (1836–1914), influential
Liberal politician and statesman.
169.2 Walton • Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, location of the Lewises’
country house, Ashley Cottage.
isabella stewart gardner [16 or 23 July 1884] ALS Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston 25
Wednesday ———— Dear Mrs. Gardner. There is a quick train for Windsor at 5.10, which gets there at 5.45. I think it would suit us, for if we dine at 8.15, we shall have 2 hours 1/2 for our drive c. This will suffice. There is a train back at 9.10 one at 10.20. If the 2d should be too late for you, we can, by dining at 8 o’clock, precisely, very comfortably 169
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take the 2d. Therefore I will call for you at 4.30 tomorrow. Very faithfully yours Henry James P.S. On the whole we should be hurried! Therefore as there is a (slower train) at 4—let us take that. I will call for you therefore at 3.30 sharp. Excuse my contradictions. Previous publication: Zorzi 122
169.33 precisely • pre- | cisely
169.23 [16 or 23 July 1884] • Following their yearlong trip in Asia,
the Gardners arrived in London on 12 July and stayed until 25 July, after which they returned home to Boston (see Gardner). Thus the two possible Wednesday dates for this letter are 16 or 23 July 1884.
lawrence barrett 18 July [1884] 20
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3 Bolton St. Piccadilly W. July 18th Dear Lawrence Barrett. Your view of my “Portrait,” as a possible play is very friendly favourable; but I may as well say concisely that I think you are mistaken in seeing a drama in it. I don’t myself, even with the utmost rearrangement that I can conceive myself willing to subject the story to. I apprehend, I think, to the full, yet do not exaggerate, the di difference of nature between a novel a play, in the light of this discrimination the Portrait 170
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seems to me to belong essentially to the former class to be inconvertible into any thing different. I feel sure that an attempt to convert it into a drama would despoil the story of such merits as it possesses not give it sufficient others in their place. The book is before all things a study of character—descriptive, analytic, psychological, concerned with fine shades, motives, c. These are elements which, to become popular with any English=speaking audience, a drama must possess—as you are no doubt still better aware than I—only in a barely perceptible degree. In a word, I don’t think the action of the “p Portrait” vivid enough to keep a play on its legs, even if bolstered up by numerous changes. It would be simpler easier for me to invent a new story altogether. I have not forgotten the talk we had about these matters; though various considerations have combined to drain away the very earnest desire I formerly had to do something for the stage, that ambition, I think, is not incapable of reviving in the presence of any prospect of (to put the matter in its homely crudity) pecuniary gain! Without swagger, I believe I could write a more successful comedy (of a serious kind) than any transmogrification of the Portrait would be. Have you by chance ever read a novel of mine entitled the American? Three or four years ago I conceived the idea of writing a play, in 4 acts, founded upon it, following it with tolerably tolerable closeness, with this exception, that a happy dénouement was substituted for the tragical one of the story. I wrote the 1st act, then was interrupted by more pressing duties; after which I laid it aside, haven’t touched the thing since. I should be willing to take it up again, if on a perusal of the story it should seem to you that you would believe in, or care for, a play extracted from it. I think I see, myself, a strong successful one. I ought to add that should I undertake this business I shouldn’t be able to do so for some months. I have lately begun a long novel (for the Atlantic) must get it off my hands before I attack anything else, I work slowly. 171
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The Season, thank God, is nearly at an end, I haven’t had much complaint to make of it this year, as I have spent it mainly in the country. I congratulate you on your well-earned rest, am with kind remembrances, very faithfully yours Henry James Previous publication: HJL 3: 46–47
170.30 myself • my= | self
170.33 di difference • [ first f overwrites illegible letter]
170.33 between • be= | tween
170.34 discrimination • dis- | crimination
171.2 any thing • any | thing
171.3 convert • con= | vert
171.4 possesses • pos= | sesses
171.5 descriptive • descrip= | tive
171.6 psychological • psycholog= | ical
171.7 become • be= | come
171.9 perceptible • percep= | tible
171.10 p Portrait • [P overwrites p]
171.19 successful • suc= | cessful
171.20 transmogrification • transmog= | rification
171.24 tolerably tolerable • [e overwrites blotted y]
171.27 haven’t • have= | n’t
170.28 “Portrait,” • The Portrait of a Lady.
171.21–28 the American? Three or four years ago [. . .] haven’t touched the thing since. • HJ returned to this project early in 1890, when Edward Compton (1854–1918) offered him a £250 advance for the dramatic rights to the novel (Edel, Complete Plays 179).
171.33 a long novel (for the Atlantic) • The Princess Casamassima.
172.3 your well-earned rest • Barrett arrived in New York City on
15 July, having been performing in Yorick’s Love and Richelieu for three months in London (Barron 87). Rather than resting, he began his next touring season almost immediately, on 3 August in Denver (88).
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edmund gosse 18 July [1884] ALS Leeds University BC Gosse Correspondence
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3 Bolton St Piccadilly July 18th ———— My dear Gosse. I hope very much indeed that you can dine with me on Monday next at 8, at the Reform Club. Pall Mall. I expect only two other men, Sargent Paul Bourget an amiable Frenchman who has written books. Excuse the shortness of my notice— Bourget is the cause of it. Do come. Ever yours Henry James
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[Partially legible postmark:] LONDON • W G 7 JY19 84 W
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173.13 Paul Bourget • Bourget (1852–1935) was a French novelist, poet,
and critic. He and HJ, as well as HJ and Bourget’s wife, Minnie David (m. 1890; d. 1932), became regular correspondents.
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lady louisa erskine wolseley 24 July [1884] ALS Hove Central Library, Church Road, Hove, Sussex James MS (88) 5
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3 Bolton St. W. July 24th ———— Dear Lady Wolseley. Your letter is—adorable, I thank you very kindly indeed for your opportune most welcome notification. The mystic message from the Flowers has not yet turned up—it would be sad if they shld. think better of it not ask me at all!—but when it comes, or if it comes, I shall govern myself literally— delightedly—by the indications contained in your note: that is, I shall take care to be at Aston Clinton on your days, Monday Tuesday (4th 5th,) even if I should have to sacrifice myself on the altar of consistency by passing through the Saturday- to-Monday ordeal. In this case I should be sustained by the prospect of your refreshing advent on the 3d evening. Perhaps you would kindly let me know whether the Goschens do accept you—Strange Goschens if they don’t! However, now that I reflect upon it, I see that in any case you will prefer not to go to the Flowers’ till the Monday, as you can shorten better at the end than at the beginning. If That suggestion was simply to the effect that if (not going to the Goschens) you shld. go to the Flowers’ till on Saturday afternoon (2d) I would also choose that date. In any case I will cover your visit—with a great sense of the privilege of doing so, a constant recollection of a benevolence that has from the first been deeply appreciated by yours very faithfully Henry James
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174.17 sacrifice • sacri- | fice
174.18–19 Saturday- | to-Monday • Saturday-to-Monday
174.25 If That • [Th overwrites If ]
174.12 the Flowers • Liberal MP Cyril Flower, Lord Battersea (1843–
1907), and his wife (m. 1877), Constance de Rothschild (1843–1931).
174.16 Aston Clinton • Home of the mother of Constance de Roths
child Flower, Louise Montefiore de Rothschild (1821–1910), where the Flowers lived for part of the year. The house, now demolished, was located southeast of the village of the same name. HJ later described it as “charming friendly natural—by far the most cosy homely of all the Roths child houses” (letter to Henrietta Reubell, 1 April 1888).
174.21 Goschens • Banker, politician, and Liberal MP George Joachim
Goschen (1831–1907) and his wife (m. 1857), Lucy Dalley Goschen (1830– 98). The Goschens were friends of the Wolseleys.
lady louisa erskine wolseley
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26 July [1884] ALS Hove Central Library, Church Road, Hove, Sussex James MS (89)
3 Bolton St. W. July 26th ———— Dear Lady Wolseley. Many more thanks for your second note. I am in the Lord’s (not even the Lady’s) hands, await developments with what calmness I may. It seems hardly probably probable that I shall be bidden to Aston Clinton now—that is what it is to be only second=thoughts in people’s minds—not first, like you. But if I am now not, I shall sweetly reflect on what might 175
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have been, it will be written on my tomb-stone “He almost went to Aston-Clinton when the Lady Wolseley was there.” That, after all, is something, if while there you wish I had come—a little—that will be more. I probably—though even that is uncertain!—go to Waddesdon for the Sunday, may, now, even remain the Monday. We shall have notes to compare when we next meet, I shall appear to you with expanded eyes. The Flowers seem to me aloft on Olympus like the “Gods,” I a struggling mortal, uncertain of divine decress decrees, in the lower world. Cyril is Jove, Mrs. Cyril Juno. To what pagan deity shall I compare you? Very faithfully yours H. James Previous publication: Alan James 21
175.31 probably probable • [e overwrites y]
175.31–32 It seems hardly [. . .] probable that I shall be bidden to Aston
Clinton • See 24 July to Lady Wolseley for HJ’s initial response to the invitation to visit Aston Clinton (p. 174).
176.5 Waddesdon • Waddesdon Manor, one of Ferdinand de Roths-
child’s (1839–98) estates, this one in Buckinghamshire.
176.10 Cyril • Cyril Flower, Lord Battersea.
176.10 Mrs. Cyril • Constance de Rothschild Flower, Lady Battersea.
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edgar fawcett 31 July [1884] ALS Robert H. Taylor Collection, Manuscripts Division, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library RTCO 1, box 10, folder 5
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3 Bolton St. Mayfair July 31st ———— My dear Edgar Fawcett. Your generosity is inexhaustible. I come back from a visit in the country to find your volume of poems (with its charming title) on my table. I lose no time in thanking you for it, for the two novels which have preceded it, for the copy of the Princetown Review, with its munificent notice of my productions. This last especially moves me to grateful acknowledgment. You treat me far too well, your praise is, like all your writing, very rich. I feel, on laying down your article, as if I had swallowed a jug=full of lucent syrup tinct with cinnamon. But, strange to say, the liquid sweetness agrees with me, I can only thank the friendly dispenser. If I were in N. Y. or (better) you were in London, I would talk you about your novels, which have had for me much suggestion. You are right to stick to American life: I wish I knew it as well as you. Don’t stick to verse (unless you want to very much;) I don’t mean because your verse is not good; but because I am jealous of poetry—of its taking a young talent when English prose, as a real form, an art,) is so sadly neglected. Whatever you do, however, you will continue to have the cordial good wishes of yours very faithfully Henry James Previous publication: Horne 161
177.11 inexhaustible • inexhaus- | tible
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177.17 acknowledgment • acknowl- | edgment
177.28 do • [d overwrites illegible letter]
177.29–30 cordial [. . .] Henry James • [written across the letter’s first
page]
177.1 edgar fawcett • Fawcett (1847–1904) was an American novelist and poet heavily influenced by HJ (Horne 160).
177.12 your volume of poems • Song and Story.
177.14 the two novels • Fawcett’s most recent works were An Ambitious
Woman and Tinkling Cymbals. 177.15–16 Princetown Review, with its munificent notice of my productions • Edgar Fawcett’s “Henry James’s Novels” in the Princeton Review, which Horne notes was one of “the first major general essays on HJ” (160).
177.18–19 your article • Fawcett’s “Henry James’s Novels.”
177.19–20 lucent syrup tinct with cinnamon • From John Keats’s “The
Eve of St. Agnes”: And still she slept an azure-lidded sleep, In blanched linen, smooth and lavendered, While he from forth the closet brought a heap Of candied apple, quince, and plum, and gourd, With jellies soother than the creamy curd, And lucent syrups, tinct with cinnamon (262–67)
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richard watson gilder 31 July 1884 ALS Indiana University, Lilly Library, Manuscript Collections Gilder MSS, I. Correspondence (box 11) 5
3 Bolton St. Piccadilly ———— July 31st 1884. ———— My dear Gilder. Osgood has just been to see me, has read me part of a letter from you expressing received just before he sailed from America, in which you speak of the question of pus publishing or delaying the novel of mine which is to come to you through him. You offer either to begin it within the next few months or to throw it of over into next year, are good enough to say that you will wait if he I should prefer to wait. He does not prefer to wait, neither do I, therefore I have told him that I would immediately write to you. You ought to have had the first MS. by this time, if I had been anywhere for the last three months but in this beastly London of the Season, which is an organized conspiracy against work, you shld. have done so. I am however in a position to hope that you will find it convenient to begin my novel in the December number of the Century; to this end you shall have the opening chapters by October 5th the rest very promptly afterwards. It is very preferable for me that the thing be published with as little delay (after three months hence) as possible. A novel of mine is to begin in the Atlantic by in Jun July 1885 (next year) I should rather that this “Verena” (provisional name,) were finished, or almost finished, in your pages, by that time. I hope you will appreciate this, be ready to put forward my copy as soon as it arries arrives. I should be delighted to run at the same time with Howells; it will be entertaining interesting 179
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(for both of us, I am sure) for us to march together, it will add to the brilliancy of the magazine to have the blonde the brunette (you may choose which is which) at the same time. I shall therefore send you by Oct. 5th material for three numbers. I shall send address this to your gentle Marion, of which the pure odour floats in from me, as I write, from the pavement of my stale Piccadilly. I remember your low shores, your mild waters, your still woods, your big brown studios where the firelight danced! That I also remember Mrs. Gilder the beauteous boy I needn’t say. Give them my love every good wish. I hope your summer is to your taste, when I reflect that I am to have none (I shan’t leave London at all) I am more than ever impressed with the towniness—not the downiness— of yours very faithfully Henry James No previous publication
179.13 pus publishing • [b overwrites s]
179.17 prefer • pre- | fer
179.19 immediately • imme- | diately
179.22 conspiracy • con= | spiracy
179.26 afterwards • after- | wards
179.29 Jun July • [l overwrites n] 179.33 arries arrives • [ve overwrites es]
179.34 entertaining • en- | tertaining
180.6 pavement • pave- | ment
180.11 reflect • re- | flect
180.12 ( • [( overwrites —]
180.13–14 towniness [. . .] Henry James • [written across the letter’s first
page]
179.14 the novel • The Bostonians.
179.14–15 to come to you through him • The terms of the agreement
for The Bostonians enabled Osgood to sell the serial rights of the story to an
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1884 American magazine. Osgood sold it to the Century (see Anesko, “Friction” following page 83; and HJ to Osgood, 29 January 1884, pp. 3–4).
179.24–25 begin my novel in the December number of the Century •
The first installment of The Bostonians appeared in February 1885.
179.28–29 A novel of mine is to begin in the Atlantic [. . .] July 1885
(next year) • The Princess Casamassima began in September 1885 in the Atlantic Monthly.
179.33–34 run at the same time with Howells • Howells’s The Rise of
Silas Lapham was serialized in the Century, beginning in November 1884.
180.5 your gentle Marion • Gilder Lodge in Marion, Massachusetts.
In The Bostonians, the seaside village of Marmion is modeled after Marion, where HJ visited the Gilders in 1883.
180.9 Mrs. Gilder • Helena de Kay Gilder (1846–1916), Richard Wat-
son Gilder’s wife, was the sister of Katharine de Kay Bronson. She and HJ had been friends since childhood. She was a translator, painter, and founder of both the Art Students League (1875) and the Society of American Artists (1877).
180.9–10 the beauteous boy • Rodman Gilder (1877–1953), son of
Helena de Kay and Richard Watson Gilder.
william dean howells 31 July [1884] ALS Houghton bMS Am 1784 (253)-5 1
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3 Bolton St. W. July 31st My dear Howells. Being in the highest degree pressed with work, having just come to a renewed sense of terrible arrears, having fifty other things to do, the moment seems remarkably good for writing you a few leisurely, friendly lines. A visit from Osgood this a.m. has put the pen in my hands̷. He tells me of your 181
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having bought a house in Beacon St., overlooking the lagoon (if I understand it right) I hasten to express all my satisfaction at your being so happily healthily domiciled. I see you in a lovely study that commands the shining estuary, visited by a muse whom the most pressing engagements elsewhere cannot induce to leave so sweet a spot. What charming things she will say to her, you, how you will always find her with her cheek on her hand at your back-window! You will find yourself writing too t well, will wish sigh for the prosier prospects of Florence Venice London. I wish you, seriously, every domestic social felicity, to Mrs. Howells the amplest consciousness of modern improvements. This is mainly what I wished to say; but with our rareness of opportunities I must add a put more in. I am at the present moment what I imagine you most naturally suppose me to be—a battered relic of the London Season. It is fortunately over, I possess my soul once more. I have tried hard to lead a quiet life, but have succeeded only in being infinitely interrupted distracted. Moral—I shall next year seek safety in absence. Meanwhile, however, I remain uninterruptedly in London, on which with the last week, a holy calm has descended. I shall have no absence no “country” (thank heaven,) but peg away at two fictions which I have undertaken the minor (shorter) of which is to keep company to one of yours (I believe) in the Century for a while. The other decorates the Atlantic a year hence. The Atlantic lately brought me Aldrich, that gilded youth, who edits periodicals from Brown’s Hotel. As he appears to have everything the world can give, he appears is afraid he may have the cholera, so returns presently to his homes. I hope he won’t take the microbe with him, to decimate the twins. I see Gosse every now then we generally talk of you; of course you know (as indeed you are the author) of his American plans. His Cambridge lectureship here is a good thing for him, but arduous at the start. Where are you?—in what country? The rustle of the ’bus=wheels in 182
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Piccadilly the fragrance of the opposite chimney pots are all my touch of nature. Do you see T. S. P.? Embrace him for me. Be embraced yourself believe me ever of your Bostonianship the very faithful devotee—Henry James Previous publication: Anesko 244–45
181.34 hands̷ • [blotted out]
182.2 understand • under- | stand
182.3 healthily • health- | ily
182.11 , • [, overwrites .]
182.21 descended • [n malformed]
182.23 company • com= | pany
182.27 everything • every- | thing
182.31 indeed • in- | deed
183.4 the very [. . .] Henry James • [written across the letter’s first page]
182.1 a house in Beacon St. • Earlier in the summer Howells had pur-
chased 302 Beacon Street, on the water side of Boston’s Back Bay, where the protagonist in The Rise of Silas Lapham hoped to reside.
182.22 two fictions • The Bostonians and The Princess Casamassima.
182.27 Brown’s Hotel • A fashionable London hotel opened in 1837
in Mayfair.
182.30 the twins • Charles Frost (1868–1906) and Talbot Bailey (1868–
1957) Aldrich.
182.32 his American plans • During the winter of 1884–85, Edmund
Gosse gave a series of lectures in the United States (later published as From Shakespeare to Pope); Howells helped arrange his visit.
182.32 His Cambridge lectureship • After Leslie Stephen left the posi-
tion in the spring of 1884, Gosse was appointed to the Clark Lectureship in English Literature at Trinity College, Cambridge.
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violet paget 31 July [1884] ALS Colby College Special Collections, Waterville, Maine 5
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3 Bolton St. Piccadilly. July 31st Dear Miss Paget. I came back yesterday from four (intentionally) letter=less days in the country to find your most gracious interesting note. Let me not again lay my honoured (by you) head to rest, without thanking you for the good news good feeling it contains. I am delighted, all round, quite (as wouldn’t Miss Brown herself say?) taken aback. Blackwood is a civil, sensible Blackwood, you were well inspired to go to him. Macmillan wouldn’t have given you £100 down—at least he never gave ’em me— would have relegated the falling due of your profits to the Millenium. God speed the day when, the proper numbers of copies triumphantly sold, the half-sovereigns shall flow in with a delicious monotony. My sordid imagination gloats upon the commercial picture. This however is only after it has hung fondly gratefully—over that other vision—the dedication which you so generously offer me. Be assured, dear Miss Paget, that this proposal touches the most sensitive parts of my being produces there the most delightful agitation. It will be a great honour for me, to as well as a great pleasure, to see my name on the thresh threshold of your beautiful structure; it will never be written in a more distinguished place. May it do some little good to the interesting Miss Brown, not any little harm. But she will make her way by her own rich title. I am eager to known when she appears, shall probably take the chance of finding you tomorrow (Friday) offering you, more personally, my congratulations. Let me add to them now my very friendly remembrance of your beautiful companions. Believe me very faithfully yours Henry James 184
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184.8 letter=less • letter= | less
184.9 interesting • inter- | esting
184.12 contains • con- | tains
184.19 monotony • mon- | otony
184.26 thresh threshold • thresh- | hold
184.1 violet paget • Paget (1856–1935) was a British author, critic, and essayist who wrote under the pseudonym Vernon Lee. She dedicated her novel Miss Brown, one of some thirty books she published, to HJ.
184.12–13 Miss Brown • Anne Brown, the eponymous character of
Paget’s novel.
184.13 Blackwood • Miss Brown was published by William Blackwood
and Sons late in 1884.
184.16–17 falling due of your profits to the Millenium • The half-
profits contract was Macmillan’s preferred form of agreement with many of its authors, including HJ. These terms typically delayed an author’s remuneration.
184.25 a great pleasure, to see my name • After reading Miss Brown,
HJ regretted Paget’s dedication.
olivia brown walsh 31 July 1884
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3 Bolton St., Piccadilly July 31st 1884 My dear Lily, I ought long ago to have written to you that I thought affectionately of you at the time of your Father’s death and should have done so, I am sure, if I had been anywhere but 185
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in this all-engrossing, all-interrupting and all-preventing London. During the three months that have just elapsed—the “Season”—one’s life here is so dreadfully crowded that it is hard to resist the vicious habit of putting off everything that is not of urgent practical need at the moment. I try to lead a quiet life, but I don’t succeed—and this is why I allowed myself to postpone from week to week what I so often had in mind—the sad pleasure of sending you and your sisters some assurance of my sympathy. Please receive it now, and believe that when I heard that your dear Father had gone to his well-earned rest, away from all further pains and burdens, my heart was full of affectionate remembrance of his kind, delightful benevolence and the valuable service which for so many years he rendered my own dear parents. I had special recollection of what he had done for me, in a practical way, in the past, in relation to my various former visits to Europe; he made everything so easy in the way of letters of credit! It must have been a great satisfaction to you all to feel how universally esteemed and respected he had been and how many striking expressions of it followed him to his grave. The last years of his life, I am afraid, were weary and troubled ones—so that when he passed away you had no wish to protest against the end. Nevertheless, such an end is a great change—in the lives of a man’s children—and you will have felt by this time all that it means. I am very glad to hear from Aunt Kate that you are to continue to live at Stamford, which I suppose is the place in the world that you and Bessie and Louisa love best. May you have a happy and comfortable home there—now that you have passed for the second (and last) time out of the shadow of a parent’s death.—I got some ten days ago, a most delightful letter from Aunt Kate, from the out-of-the- way corner of the world where she has found a refuge for the summer, and where, with her wonderful spirits and vigour, she appears, in spite (as I suppose) of great discomforts, to flourish and recover. She has indeed apparently quite recovered, and I 186
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am delighted that she has been able to take care of herself so well. She tells me that she has bequeathed you Cousin Helen— on whose kindly presence I congratulate you, as I congratulate her on your ministrations. I trust you summer isn’t any more roasting than usual. I speak with feeling, as we are having it remarkably hot (for England) here, and I am spending the month of August in a city of 4,000,000 of inhabitants. I wish I were in your orchard—or your tomato garden, or on your piazza of an evening! Give much love, please from me, to Cousin Helen, and your Sisters, the gentle Bessie and the bright Louise, and believe me, dear Lily, very faithfully yours, Henry James No previous publication
187.12 Henry James • [copy-text reads HENRY JAMES; probably tran-
scriber’s formatting]
185.24 olivia brown walsh • Walsh (1839–1911) was HJ’s first cousin and oldest daughter of HJ’s maternal uncle Alexander Robertson Walsh.
185.33 your Father’s death • Alexander Robertson Walsh died on 17
April 1884.
186.25 Stamford • Stamford, Connecticut.
186.26–27 Bessie and Louisa • Elizabeth Robertson Walsh (1840–90)
and Louisa Corrin Walsh (1849–1917), sisters of Olivia Brown Walsh.
186.28–29 second (and last) time [. . .] death • Olivia Walsh’s mother,
Emily M. Brown Walsh, died in 1881.
187.2 Cousin Helen • Helen Rodgers Wyckoff Perkins (1807–87),
maternal first cousin of MWJ. She had grown up almost as a third sister to MW J and AK.
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3 Bolton St. W. J August 1st ———— My dear Francis. I am afraid you will find this only just enough of a letter to show you how incapable I still remain of writing you such a one as you deserve. For months months have I intended to send you a few lines “all to yourself,” the quickly passing summer still finds me intending much more than performing. But I stretch out this hand of entreaty friendship to you, in the hope that its vague, desperate movement may have for you a touching, a conciliatory expression—may tell you that it is the hand of a man overwrought with the writing of many letters. The train-de-v ie of this monstrous city is the excuse I give, in general, for my many shortcomings, why then shouldn’t I make use of it with you, my old familiar friend, with whom I can take a harmless liberty? It is true the Season is now over; but I am all the more taken up with writing 2 novels for your particular entertainment, I am sure you would not have me sacrifice a single printed page to see a series of these horribly=written ones. I have heard of you this summer indeed all the year, from Alice, I thank you far more than I can say, Lizzie too, for your constant kindness f to that solitary maid. I see you in my mind’s eye under the little trees at Pomfret, diffusing, in the summer evenings, the spirit of conversation, of criticism of foreign reminiscence. Do write me a line tell me how you feel in these days, how Lizzie feels, how Alice seems to you to feel, when you again take up the pilgrim’s staff letter-of-credit. It is good that your’e not here now, for 188
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your favourite countries are terribly quarantined. As they are mine, too, I remain in England, hope, in consequence, to do a lot of work, which I hope (still more) that you will like. Do you ever see Howells?—I have been delighted to hear that he has bought a house in Boston. Have you heard any of his opera, with Henschel, do you think it will make a hit bring him gold? I much hope it. I shall not go to Italy till next autumn spring. Won’t you come out join me there? You shall have a better letter if you write me you will. It is deadly hot, the air is thick. I go presently to see the Dan Curtises, who have left cards upon me, I embrace you, with your permission Lizzie, am, in spite of my apparent meagreness, your very faithful fond Henry James No previous publication
188.7 J August • [A overwrites J]
188.11 incapable • incap= | able
188.24 entertainment • entertain- | ment
188.28 constant • con- | stant
188.31 criticism • criti- | cism
188.34 your’e • [’e inserted]
189.11–13 you, with [. . .] Henry James • [written across the letter’s first
page]
188.1 francis boott • Francis “Frank” Boott (1813–1904), amateur composer and musician, longtime friend of the Jameses, father of Elizabeth Boott. 188.19 train-de-v ie • lifestyle.
188.23 2 novels • The Bostonians and The Princess Casamassima.
188.29 at Pomfret • Pomfret, Connecticut. The James family and the
Bootts vacationed in Pomfret together in 1869 when HJ was in Switzerland (see WJ to Henry Pickering Bowditch, 12 August 1869, CWJ 4: 384; HJ to parents, 13 June [1869], CLHJ, 1855–1872 2: 27n24.6). HJ vacationed
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The Complete Letters of Henry James there with his family in 1870 (HJ to Grace Norton, 26 September [1870], CLHJ, 1855–1872 2: 375).
189.1 terribly quarantined • European nations such as Spain, Portugal,
France, and Italy, as well as Great Britain and the United States, imposed quarantines in 1884 to address the international spread of cholera.
189.5–6 his opera, with Henschel • A Sea-Change or Love’s Stowaway.
A Lyricated Farce. George Henschel wrote the music. The operetta was scheduled for its first performance in November 1885 at the Bijou in Boston, but a life-ending accident to the theater manager forced its cancellation at that venue (Anesko, Letters, Fictions, Lives 247n6). An orchestral reading of the operetta was given to a private audience on 27 January 1885 at the Field Museum in Boston (Meserve 270). Howells finally published the libretto in Harper’s Weekly and in book form in 1888.
189.10 Dan Curtises • Daniel Sargent Curtis (1825–1908) and Ariana
Randolph Wormeley Curtis (1833–1922). Daniel Sargent Curtis was the stepson of Laura Greenough Curtis, who was the sister of artist Henry Greenough, the brother-in-law of Francis Boott (see HJ to MWJ, 29 December [1872], CLHJ, 1872–1876 1: 168n166.8–9). Ariana Wormeley Curtis was the sister of Balzac translator Katharine Prescott Wormeley.
grace norton 2 August 1884 ALS Houghton 25
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3 Bolton St. Piccadilly J August 2d 1884 ———— My good Grace. This is not so much a letter as an attempt to tell you that I can’t write one—to ask you to wait a little till I have lifted from my shoulders a perfect incubus of work. Yet I can’t leave your charming pages from Ashfield without tenderly grateful 190
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acknowledgement. They contain innumerable interesting things a kind of contact or personal presence seems to emanate from them They are not as jovial as I could wish—but they are (in this respect) pretty well— I don’t mean to let that matter. The termination of the “Season” (more more loathsome period) has left me confronted with dreadful arrears of work, a visit two days since from my American publisher Osgood has rendered the sense of my backsliding acute. I am under a solemn contract to write 2 novels, of which the date of serial publication (in the Century the Atlantic respectively,) stares me in the face, yet no word of which has yet been put to paper! (Please bury this low fact in silence.) I must therefore glue myself to my writing-table for many weeks to come—till I have got out of the woods of —the raw young bristling woods—of my incipient phase. After that I can take breath, look around me, answer letters, count my strains, go on at a more comfortable pace. It is the odious conditions of life that prevail here in May, June July that have left me thus high dry. Interruptions distractions are past all counting, the general world is in a conspiracy to ruin one. Fortunately all that is over—London is empty, hot stale, being, for the next several months, a very good place to work, I shall not pay the customary tribute to foreign travel. The cholera, abroad, indeed is keeping every one in the British Islands, Mrs. Kemble writes me from Stresa that she is, so far as she can perceive, the only person in any hotel on the Italian Lakes. She can’t get home, for the quarantine. So I shall linger by the shores of Piccadilly that mighty human stream whose ripples are the roar of the omnibus the hansoms, if I go away it will be mainly from Saturday to Monday.—Charles left me in very good form a fortnight ago—after a month during which, though he had been staying with me, I had not really—thanks to our perpetual engagements de part et d’autre—really seen very much of him. When I did “meet” him, he was charming!—cheerful, easy, apparently well, 191
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full of highly appreciative not too pessimistic contact with people things here. His visit was a great success, measured by his part in the performances at Emmanuel. I was not present there, but he read me his speech before he went, it was admirable—quite perfect for its purpose. I know from other sources the impression it produced on the occasion; this was the greatest, altogether Charles’s personal success in that whole affair I believe to have been quite brilliant. To that extent have he, Sally (as his daughter) been the cynosure (as represented to you) of every eye. Sally’s personal adventures I know less about—having “met” the dear girl but very little. I suspect she has had a very fairly good time—with rather more Darwinism, the Grange, Kensington, the Simons c, than Park Lane Marlborough House. I met her once at lunch at Lady Reay’s, where I know she also dined, looking very pretty everything that good could be desired—but I don’t think Lady R., though quite decently attentive, gave her any particular lift. I shall see her again, a fortnight hence, when I go to spend a Sunday at Sara Darwin’s.—These last months have brought me nothing of particular interest, though I have gone out a good deal there have been hordes of Americans in London, even on my helpless hands. Mrs. Strong has been one of them—she is now staying with her sister in Somersetshire; but is liable to reappear. Another is John Sargent (author of the Field-portrait, which I have seen) who has been twice in London during the last six months—the 2d time to paint Lady Playfair, née Russell, of Boston, whom he has not done quite his best with, as why should he? Ask Charles about him—he dined with him me, once, to meet him, I think liked him was struck with him. I like him so much that (a rare thing for me) I don’t attempt too much to judge him. He is young, (only 28), very successful, very intelligent doué, not as ambitious or (I think) as laborious as he ought to be, but very able, with a peculiar charm (of the artistic=nature kind.) I take a great 192
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interest in him, am prepared that sh he shall disappoint it! His talent is brilliant, but there is a certainl incompleteness in it, in his extremely attaching, interesting nature a certain want of seriousness. I hope he will transplant himself altogether to London, it is possible that eventually he will.—Mrs. Strong is the same old Mrs. Strong—agreeable, shallow, elaborately unsymphaticically (that is meant for unsympathetically) dressed, at once very exacting (of attention) very appreciative, restless, nervous, melancholy, frivolous, querulous, attractive, irritable, irritating, in spite of her fanatical ludicrous ( in it in its applications) r little religion, quite unable to occupy herself. So she occupies her friends!—Mrs. Jack Gardner has just passed through London, at the close of her universal tour on me her hand too was laid: but very discreetly. She is worn tired by her travels, but full of strange reminiscences, in despair at going back to Boston, where she has neither friends, nor lovers, (soft) nor entertainment, nor resources of any kind left. She was exceedingly nice, while here, I pity her. Mrs. Mason, Mrs. Strong she consorted much together, the group, as a representative American=woman one, was sufficiently edifying. (Please burn this odious sheet!) I have an interesting—that is, rather—little Frenchman on my hands—bequeathed to my me by Sargent, who has gone into the country to paint (near Sheffield!) three daughters, whose French Governess (who put the family up to him) told him he must do them dans la forme pyramidale! My Frenchman is one Paul Bourget, literary, clever, a gentleman, an Anglomane, but rather affected. I take him next week to spend a day or two at Ferdinand Rothschild’s: the latter’s house of Waddesdon being one of the most beautiful modern creations, I believe, in England. Àpropos of the modern, you will know how the question of abolishing the House of Lords has suddenly leaped into prominence. To me it is a factitious movement, for which the time is not yet. I wish it no good—thinking the House of Lords a delightful old 193
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institution, which the English alone are so lucky as to have. If they do away with it one might as well live at Omaha. Is this a letter—or only an excuse? Ever, dear Grace, your faithful H. James No previous publication
190.28 J August • [A overwrites J]
191.1 acknowledgement • acknowl- | edgement
191.1 innumerable • innumer | able
191.19 counting • coun count= | ting ing; [t overwrites first =;
second = inserted]
191.20 Fortunately • Fortu- | nately
192.1 appreciative • ap= | preciative
192.2 measured • meas= | ured
192.7 success • suc= | cess
192.22 helpless • help= | less
193.2 certainl • [blotted out] 193.3 • [ overwrites illegible letter]
193.7 unsymphaticically • [misspelled]
193.11 r little • [l overwrites r]
193.32 • [blotted out]
193.33 movement • move- | ment
194.1 are • [a overwrites illegible letter]
190.34 Ashfield • Location of the Norton summer home in western
Massachusetts.
191.9 2 novels • The Bostonians and The Princess Casamassima.
191.9 the date of the serial publication • The Bostonians began its serial
publication in the Century in February 1885 and The Princess Casamassima in the Atlantic Monthly in September 1885.
191.23 The cholera • The international cholera epidemic in 1884, which
caused quarantines around the world. 191.33 de part et d’autre • for both of us.
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192.3 performances at Emmanuel • Norton, traveling with his daugh-
ter, Sara, represented Harvard at the Tercentenary of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, 18–19 June (Turner 306; Norton, Letters 2: 160–62).
192.12 Darwinism • Probably a reference to the family of Charles Eliot
Norton’s sister-in-law, Sara Price Ashburner Sedgwick (1839–1902) and William Erasmus Darwin (1839–1914), mentioned in this letter.
192.13 the Grange • Home and studio of Edward Burne-Jones, 49
North End Road, in West Kensington (see Bell 40; Champlin 1: 222).
192.13 the Simons • Sir John and Lady Jane O’Meara Simon resided
at 40 Kensington Square, London.
192.13–14 Park Lane Marlborough House • One of London’s most
fashionable streets and a royal London residence sometimes used for exhibitions, respectively. HJ may be using the two locations as figures of speech for parts of London frequented by American tourists.
192.14 Lady Reay’s • Home of Fanny Georgina Jane Hasler Mitchell
Mackay, Lady Reay, and Donald James Mackay, 11th Lord Reay and 1st Baron Reay.
192.25 the Field-portrait • Mr. & Mrs. John White Field, 1882. The
Fields were friends of the Nortons.
192.26–27 to paint Lady Playfair • Edith, Lady Playfair, 1884.
192.32 doué • gifted, talented.
193.5 eventually he will • In 1886 John Singer Sargent settled in Lon-
don, where he resided for the rest of his life.
193.12–13 Mrs. Jack Gardner [. . .] her universal tour • After leaving
Boston in May 1883, the Gardners began an around-the-world tour via San Francisco, the Far East, India, Egypt, Venice, and London (see HJ to Isabella Stewart Gardner, 2 May [1884], pp. 103–4).
193.23–24 Sargent, who has gone into the country to paint (near Shef-
field!) three daughters • The Misses Vickers, a portrait of the daughters of Col. Thomas Vickers. 193.25–26 dans la forme pyramidale! • in a pyramidal shape!
193.31–32 the question of abolishing the House of Lords • After the
House of Lords rejected the social and financial equalization initiatives within the Franchise Bill in July, many Liberal MPs called for the abolish-
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sir 5 August [1884] ALS Columbia University, Rare Books and Manuscripts Spec MS Coll James, H.
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3 Bolton St. Mayfair W. August 5th ———— Dear Sir. I have been very sorry to have to send off a telegram declining, with reluctance, your kind invitation to dine with you tonight. I scrawl this hasty line just before catching the train which carries me to pay a country visit, to which I have been some time pledged, which interposes itself against my enjoyment of your banquet. May the latter be as brilliant as your hospitality energy deserve. Believe me, dear Sir, very truly yours Henry James No previous publication
196.16 invitation • invita= | tion
196.19 , • [, overwrites .]
196.20 as • [a overwrites ]
196.18 pay a country visit • HJ’s visit to Waddesdon Manor (see also
HJ to Lady Louisa Erskine Wolseley, 26 July [1884], and HJ to Grace Norton, 2 August [1884], pp. 176, 193).
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james ripley osgood 15 August [1884] ALS University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center W. Hugh Peal Manuscript Collection, c. 1448–1987, undated, 1997ms474 5
Dover, 15 Esplanade ———— My dear Osgood. I shall be in town on Monday (for the day) only shall be in Bolton St. about noon (12 o’clock,) if you should be near. Otherwise I shall keep out of it its suffocating temperature, for some time to come. I am working away very prosperously at my novel here. Yours ever Henry James August 15th ———— No previous publication
197.10 ( • [( overwrites .]
197.13 my novel • The Bostonians.
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elizabeth mary rose-i nnes santley 21 August [1884] ALS Duke University, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library 5
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Dover, 15 Esplanade. August 21st ———— Dear Mrs. Santley. Your kind note was forwarded to me last night at this place, which happens to be my present residence. I am very sorry to say I shall not be in town on Sunday not able therefore to have the pleasure of dining with you. My London=loving resolutions broke down a fortnight, or more, ago, in the midst of that desperate hot weather, I bolted to this place, which is an old ( convenient) resort of mine in moments of extremity. I find here a blue sea, a balmy breeze delicious quiet, which, as I am pressed to make up some belated work, is a great advantage to me. Now having tasted the sweets of an atmosphere less stuffy than that of our dear metropolis, I shall probably be an absentee for some weeks to come, not return to Bolton St before the month of October. When I do so I shall come thank you for your friendly remembrance of me. I hope you are not tied too fast to your figurative Wood. When September comes shall you not desire a more audible rustle? Kind regards please from to your husband, many regrets of yours very truly Henry James. No previous publication
198.1 elizabeth mary rose-i nnes santley • Santley (1854–1938) was the second wife of English baritone vocalist George Santley (1834– 1922; m. 1884).
198.21–22 not return to Bolton St before the month of October • HJ
198
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198.24 figurative Wood • Santley lived at 5 Upper Hamilton Terrace,
St. John’s Wood, London.
198.26 your husband • George Santley.
lady louisa erskine wolseley 21 August [1884] ALS Hove Central Library, Church Road, Hove, Sussex
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August 21st ———— Dover, 15 Esplanade. ———— Dear Lady Wolseley. Your poor governess is a clever as well as an afflicted woman her account of that mauvais quart d’heure (from 4 to 6!) is vivid, tragic, comic, graphic, humorous appalling. I return her little history with many thanks—I wish I could turn a toothache to so good an account.—Yes, I am by the shining sea, having bolted from London as soon as I got back to it on that terrible Monday when we came up from the Rallis’. I came down here because it was near, an old friend of mine—tested in seedy hours in former years. It is quiet without being dismal cheerful without being offensive. The sea, this morning, is as blue as—I was when I last parted with your ladyship, the cliffs as white as that dress you didn’t wear on our Sunday walk. It contains not a soul I know, the conditions are excellent for driving the belated quill; a duty with which I am now much occupied. As I look up from my paper I see the coast of France, I make a continental tour between the lines of this hasty epistle. I scribble I lie on 199
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the pebbles, I lie on the pebbles scribble, I haven’t a single, solitary engagement —ahead— to pay a visit or to eat a dinner—a state of things which in my present unsociable state of mind rests like balm upon my spirit. I did go up to town on Saturday last in order to leave it again for the last Saturday- to-Monday e̷ Episode—a visit near Southampton, which turned out pleasant; but with that for the present, I bid good-bye to the world. The next time I have the honour to see you, I hope to have written a book. Your visit at Broughton Castle sounds a little mild—je me doute of what it may have been. But at least you managed Wroxton, I hope found me no more of a romancer than usual.—Dear Lady Wolseley, my conduct about Créquy looks bad; but there is absolutely no information to be had about her here, my French friend, on whom I counted for illuminating the subject has not been under my hand. He is coming down here next week to pay me a visit, then I shall religiously pump him. Meanwhile all books are distant from me here—but stay, I will write to my little Gaul. What does your friend wish to do with the poor old lady—in what manner does she propose to hurl her at M. Arnold’s head? Patience, I will bestir myself. Àpropos of Mesdames, I haven’t the last little de Mauves here. It is, you see, an economy for you poor Mrs. Lang, to whom I will write on the occasion of her sister’s death. Forgive me my shortcomings believe me, dear Lady Wolseley, very devotedly yours Henry James
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200.5–6 Saturday | -to-Monday • Saturday-to- | -Monday
200.6 e̷ Episode • [E overwrites e]
200.7 good-bye • good- | bye
200.21 last • [l overwrites illegible letters]
200.24–25 me my [. . .] Henry James • [written across the letter’s first
page]
199.20 mauvais quart d’heure • unpleasant experience.
199.25 Rallis’ • Pandeli Ralli (1845–1928), Greek socialite born in
France. He became a nationalized English citizen in 1866. Ralli was a Liberal MP from 1875 to 1885. He had an estate in Alderbrook, Surrey. HJ visited Ralli from 9 to 11 August 1884.
200.9 written a book • HJ was finishing The Bostonians.
200.9 Your visit at Broughton Castle • Broughton Castle, Oxfordshire,
home of Wolseley acquaintance Lord Saye and Sele. HJ visited Broughton Castle in 1877 (HJ to MWJ, 26 August [1877], CLHJ, 1876–1878 1: 196) and wrote about it in “In Warwickshire.” 200.10 je me doute • I suspect.
200.11 Wroxton • Wroxton Abbey, Oxfordshire, which HJ visited in
1877 (HJ to MWJ, 26 August [1877], CLHJ, 1876–1878 1: 196) and wrote about in “In Warwickshire.”
200.12–13 my conduct about Créquy • Renée-Caroline Victoire de
Froulay, marquise de Créquy (1714–1803). Her memoirs, Souvenirs de la marquise de Créquy de 1710 á 1803, a set of which HJ owned (Edel and Tintner 27), were known to be apocryphal. Pierre-Marie-Jean Cousin de Courchamps (1783–1849) was allegedly the author (see also HJ to Lady Louisa Erskine Wolseley, 16 September [1884], p. 214). It is not clear what HJ’s conduct was regarding Créquy. In The Princess Casamassima HJ included those memoirs as part of Lady Aurora Langrish’s book collection, about which Hyacinth Robinson “was privately a little disappointed. . . . [T]hey denoted, on Lady Aurora’s part, a limited acquaintance with French literature and even a certain puerility of taste. There were several
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200.14 My French friend • Probably Paul Bourget. See HJ to Grace
Norton, 2 August 1884, HJ to Thomas Sergeant Perry, 26 September [1884], and HJ to WJ, 5 October [1884], pp. 193, 218–19, 237.
200.22–23 Mrs. Lang • Leonora Blanche Alleyne Lang (1851–1933),
writer, translator, and wife of Andrew Lang.
200.23 her sister’s death • Sarah Frances Alleyne (b. 1836), eldest sister
of Leonora Blanche Alleyne Lang, died 16 August 1884.
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15 Esplanade, Dover August 26th Dear Macmillan I wrote to the “firm”, because I supposed you, every other individual member of it, were absent, but I am glad to catch have caught you before you sail. (I thought this event had taken place last Saturday.) I fled from the London temperature two or three weeks ago, came down here for ventilation privacy. I have found both in due measure, have some tidy little quarters overhanging the French coast (so near it looks) am working very diligently at a much=delayed novel, which is presently to appear in the Century. If I don’t languish for some other society than my own, that of my creations, (which is all I have) I shall stay through September. I am very glad to hear Mrs. Macmillan is better hope her pious pilgrimage will complete the good work. From the Engadine to the London of the last weeks must have been for you a jump from the pole to the tropics. You have the consolation that America can’t feel 202
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hot. I make a note of 7 Northwick Terrace, begin to wish, again, I had taken Elm Tree Road! Many good wishes to your wife a happy return. My copy goes this evening. Yours ever Henry James Previous publication: Moore 92–93
202.24 ventilation • ventila- | tion
202.28 languish • lan- | guish
202.31 pious • [o inserted]
202.12 frederick macmillan • Frederick Orridge Macmillan (1851– 1936), son of Macmillan and Company cofounder Daniel Macmillan (1813–57). Frederick became a partner in Macmillan and Company in 1876. HJ and he met in 1877, the start of a long-standing publishing relationship and friendship.
202.22 before you sail • The Macmillans embarked for the United
States on August 30, hoping that the sea voyage and a return to Mrs. Macmillan’s native country would improve her health.
202.27 much=delayed novel • The Bostonians.
202.31 Mrs. Macmillan • Georgiana Elizabeth Warrin Macmillan
(1846–1943), an American who married Frederick Macmillan in 1874.
202.31–32 pious pilgrimage [. . .] good work • The Macmillans left for
the United States on 30 August 1884, in part due to Georgiana Elizabeth Warrin Macmillan’s ill-health, which did not significantly improve until at least January 1885 (Moore 92, 94n4, 95).
202.32 Engadine • Prior to their 1884 trip to the United States, the
Macmillans had spent time in Switzerland.
203.1 7 Northwick Terrace • The Macmillans had recently moved to
this address from Elm Tree Road, St. John’s Wood, London. A year before, HJ had contemplated taking a house in St. John’s Wood (see HJ to Elizabeth Boott, 14 October 1883, CLHJ, 1883–1884 1: 243).
203.3 My copy • “The Path of Duty.”
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lady louisa erskine wolseley 3 September 1884 ALS Hove Central Library, Church Road, Hove, Sussex James MS (2) 5
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Dover, 15 Esplanade Sept. 3d 1884. ———— Dear Lady Wolseley. I have wished both to congratulate to condole with you, but I have thought it better to wait till Lord Wolseley had left these shores the tossed-up waters of your fate had begun to subside. Now (unless you spend all your time in reading his missives)—though they will hardly, as yet, have begun to pour in—I suppose you are accessible to a word from an old friend who would like you to know that he appreciates both your glory your gloom! How clever you were about both of these mystic elements during that warm episode at the Ralli’s! There were moments during that genial walk over the hills when the bout de l’oreille might have cropped out, if it hadn’t been such a very cautious, attentive oreille! However, now that we are all in the secrets secret, I can say that we all did suspect it, can pretend that my discretion (even amid the comparative familiarity of the gooseberry=picking) was almost as great as yours. May your isolation be brief, sustained by the most felicitous bulletins. I am wondering what other aids you cultivate, during these weeks of waiting. But no one waits so gracefully genially as you—that is a part of your métier as the wife of a general, that you have thoroughly mastered, it is an occupation in itself. If you are in Staffordshire, as I suppose, I am afraid (in spite of the occupation just=mentioned) that you have leisure to think about Crèqui. I languish for news of her—but it doesn’t come. It must now, from one day to the other; then you shall have it all, 204
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be it ever so much—which I fear it won’t be. I am immersed in unsociable seclusion, converse only with the winds waves. We talk often about you, but they tell me less than I should some day, at your convenience, like to hear from a still purer source! Kindly remember this for the benefit of yours, dear
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to be forwarded. The Lady Wolseley
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204.22 However • How- | ever
204.23 secrets secret • [t overwrites ts]
204.24 comparative • compar- | ative
204.32 have • [h overwrites illegible letter]
205.2 , • [, overwrites .]
205.5–6 of yours dear [. . .] Henry James • [written across the letter’s first
page]
204.12–13 till Lord Wolseley had left these shores • On 31 August 1884
Lord Wolseley left London for military service in Egypt.
204.19 that warm episode at the Ralli’s • HJ visited Pandeli Ralli from
9 to 11 August 1884 (see also HJ to Lady Louisa Erskine Wolseley, 21 August [1884], p. 199).
204.20–21 bout de l’oreille • secret.
204.31 in Staffordshire • While Lord Wolseley was in Egypt, Lady
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Dover, 15 Esplanade. Sept. 4th My dear Gosse. Being in town for a few hours yesterday I found your poetical tribute to Dr. Holmes which you had bg to been so kind as to send me (it hadn’t been forwarded) which I read with much applause. It is charmingly ingenious, very felicitous, quite true enough, altogether a very pretty idea very prettily rendered. It will tickle the old man in his tenderest part, he will embrace you, in Boston—if fate is still to carry you there. I am immersed in unsociable seclusion, (I am happy to say) sadly belated work, at this agreeably=dull little place, where I have a delicious absence of acquaintance a still more delicious presence of leisure for a pressing task. I shall remain here (unless bad weather drives me away) for the greater part of this month. I wonder whether you wouldn’t come down spend 36 hours with me? I can offer you a lonely cot a simple, wholesome victual: in short a very modest but very cordial hospitality. Almost any date would suit me. I fear you are in town (from something you said to me of your plans) le pegging away at lectures much driven by the same. Kindly remind me of your date of sailing for the U. S. I must See you before that, even if it be sooner than I suppose (my supposition placing it in November?) I hope you are well— “sustained” under pressure. Thanks again for the elegant verses—I envy you your rhyming touch! Yours ever H. James 206
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206.15 with • [t inserted]
206.26 Almost • Al= | most
206.27 something • some- | thing
206.28 le pegging • [p overwrites le]
206.30 , • [, overwrites .]
206.12–13 your poetical tribute to Dr. Holmes • “An Epistle to Dr.
Oliver Wendell Holmes on His Seventy-Fifth Birthday.”
206.18 if fate is still to carry you there • Gosse traveled to the United
States for a lecture series in the winter of 1884–85 at the Lowell Institute in Boston, the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and elsewhere. Gosse’s From Shakespeare to Pope was a product of those lectures.
206.25 a lonely cot • See Robert Burns’s “The Cotter’s Saturday
Night”: “At length his lonely cot appears in view, / Beneath the shelter of an aged tree.”
206.28 pegging away at lectures • For two years, beginning in October
1884, Gosse was Clark Lecturer at Cambridge; he was also preparing for his 1884–85 lecture tour in the United States.
206.29–30 your date for sailing for the U. S. • Edmund and Ellen
“Nellie” Gosse arrived in New York on 29 November 1884. While there, they stayed at Hotel Dam. On 1 December the Gosses arrived in Boston for the Lowell Lectures. After the series, the couple made a whirlwind social and professional tour of the northeastern United States, visiting and lecturing in cities such as Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and Concord. They left the United States on 27 January 1885.
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madam 15 September [1884] ALS The Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature, New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and 5
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Dover Sept. 15th Dear Madam I meant on receiving it to answer your note of the 4th, in which you are so good as to express your appreciation of my little attempt, in Longmans, to utter some few ideas on the subject of the art of fiction. But I have been much occupied, indeed have only time to-day to thank you for your friendly assurances, which are of a kind that it always gives an artist pleasure a certain propulsion to receive, to wish you all possible satisfaction in your own career Believe me yours very truly Henry James No previous publication
208.12–13 Longmans [. . .] art of fiction • “The Art of Fiction.”
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Dover, 15 Esplanade Sept 16th 1884. My dear du Maurier. J’éprouve le besoin de vous écrire! A good pretext for doing it is the hope that you will let me know the when you 208
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rentrez dans vos pénates, so that I may come out perambulate with you among the tints of autumn before the days go grow too short. I figure you on the banks of the Rhine or the Main, or some such place foreign stream (it is a strange horrid fact that I have missed Punch, through a series of accidents, of late) so haven’t your autobiographic record,) but have also ideas about your returning toward the end of the present month. Send me a line, du Maurier do, I, being also by that time rendered to my hearth, will come out wish you welcome with the authority of one who has not quitted Albion. Five weeks ( more) of Dover is the nearest I have come to that. I came down here for ventilation, privacy work have secured enjoyed them all. Thanks to the two first I have done a good deal of the last. I have been luxuriously unsocial, have seen no one, have had for my main dissipation, during this extraordinarily beautiful summer, to look up, between my polished paragraphs admire the pretty tints of the coast of France, which for the most part has looked seemed ridiculously near. And you, my good friend? Have you been, are you, at Hombourg, which I remember you spoke of when I saw you last? It’s a place I used to know to like, without exactly knowing why—the cabbages of the Frankfort plain occupy so large a part of the horizon. I shall rejoice to hear of your impressions adventures, especially if you have enjoyed them things have gone well with you all. I hope you have had good news from the prettiest of the young=married. I wanted to see you after that, but the wind- up of those London days the quick dispersion gave us all too much to do. I have had absolutely no tidings of any one don’t know what has become of any number of that société choisie to which we have the honour to belong. It is a great repose once in a while to cut one’s telegraph=wires. But I have had about enough of it am trying to re-establish communication, which with you, moreover, is always in season. Give me of you news, then, give it to me good. This is a perfect summer’s day late as 209
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it comes, the waves under my window, murmur on the pebbles, I wish that on your disembarkment you could stop pay me a visit. I could (almost) put you all up—having (almost) a house. Believe me, my dear du Maurier, yours, with kindest greetings to your wife the progeny, ever very faithfully Henry James Write to me in town—3 Bolton St. W. No previous publication
209.2 go grow • [r overwrites o] 209.6 ) • [ overwrites )]
209.17 , • [, overwrites .]
209.28 of • [of overwrites illegible letter]
210.1 comes • [m malformed]
210.3–5 (almost) [. . .] Henry James • [written across the letter’s first page]
210.6 Write [. . .] St. W. • [written across the letter’s fifth page]
208.33 J’éprouve [. . .] écrire! • I feel the urge to write to you!
208.34–209.1 when you rentrez dans vos pénates • when you are com-
ing home.
209.5–6 Punch [. . .] autobiographic record • That is, Du Maurier’s
attitudes and responses to current events as represented by his illustrations and their captions in Punch.
209.20–21 It’s a place I used to know • HJ visited Homburg during July
and August 1873. He published “Homburg Reformed” in 1873.
209.26 young=married • Du Maurier’s daughter, Beatrix Clara Isa-
bel Busson (b. 1864), married Charles Christian Hoyer Millar on 26 July 1884.
209.29 société choisie • select group.
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henrietta reubell 16 September 1884 ALS Houghton bMS Am 1094 (1055) 5
Dover, 15 Esplanade Sept 16th 1884. ———— Dear Miss Reubell. Am I too great a criminal to be forgiven? Your mercy, I know, is infinite, so is my devotion, in spite of all appearances, in spite of my long most involuntary silence the general absence of recent proofs. You see I come back like a bad shilling. I have put myself for the last six weeks on the very edge of England, so, as to be nearer to you. I have gone in for privacy, receuillemant literary labour, my situation has given me leisures in which your image—somewhat stern stately but with all its essential grace—has traversed my meditative vision. I have literally passed the summer in scribbling in thinking of you. If the two occupations have hitherto had no apparent tri trait d’union—it is simply because, as you must have noticed, I have never been good at transitions. I want to find one now— to get off this subject (of my not having written you:) but I try in vain—je patauge, je patauge— I only effect my little manoeuvre by a violent jump. I figure you at Versailles—not very dissipated, I am afraid—no St. Maurice Moritz, no “Trivulzio”, no Italian September, no bleeding figs (or hearts,) nothing but the souvenirs du grand roi, filial devotion duty an occasional note from Laugel? These last, however, are very good things, I especially desire to have news of your dear mother. I hope she has had a comfortable (as she certainly has had a magnificent) summer, that your little house under the shadow of all those big ones has not been a in any degree an infirmary. I send her a thousand good wishes kiss her hand. 211
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I have very little English news to give you, having had here an absolutely detached six weeks. I came here because it the place contained no one I knew or wanted to know, have been deliciously ( most profitably) unsocial. Mrs. Boit, I believe, has been 20 miles away (at Tunbridge Wells) but I have heard nothing of her. Sargent I have lost sight of entirely, know not in what part of the world he may be. I saw but little of him during his second visit to London; thou but I did see his portrait of Lady Playfair which I don’t think is quite what he intended it (or what I hoped) it would to be. He is strangely unequel. I have some charming rooms here which hang over the sea look straight to the coast of France. This summer, in England, has been enchanting that coast so clear that I could almost see descry a young lady with great plumes, great hats, great festoons, a great parasol a great air, walking there! I beg her to believe I am always the humblest of her servants. She must need a little holiday; won’t she take it this winter in London? That would give such opportunities (to retrieve himself ) to her very faithful friend Henry James No previous publication
211.10 , • [, overwrites .]
211.12 involuntary • in- | voluntary
211.14 myself • my= | self
211.14 • [blotted out]
211.16 receuillemant • receuille= | mant; [misspelled]
211.17 somewhat • some= | what
211.20–21 tri tract • [a overwrites i]
211.27 September • Septem- | ber
212.11 unequel • [misspelled]
212.13 been • [n malformed]
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211.13 come back like a bad shilling • Proverbial. Compare to the
American version, “turning up like a bad penny.”
211.21 trait d’union • link, connection.
211.24 je patauge, je patauge • I flounder, I flounder.
211.27 “Trivulzio” • Possibly the Trivulzio Chapel in the Basilica
Nazaro in Brolo, Milan, Italy.
211.28 souvenirs du grand roi • recollections of the great king.
lady louisa erskine wolseley 16 September [1884] ALS Hove Central Library, Church Road, Hove, Sussex James MS (4)
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Dover, 15 Esplanade. Sept 16th Dear Lady Wolseley. Very charming very welcome was your letter from Tittensor, which should have been sooner answered if my days hours were of necessity a little less scribblesome. It is a delightful picture of one of those moments of rural repose that are sometimes vouchsafed to brilliant distinguished existences. You may say the repose is just of that kind— precarious incomplete, with an underside of anxiety unrest. I hope however that up to this time the news you get from Egypt is all of good health, good hopes good spirits. That is an awkward phrase—as if any other news were necessarily on the books! But I am only falling in with your possible moods fluctuations. I hope your daughter takes you out of them always—when they are at all drab-coloured— at as the pony’s tail! If a man walking with two women was not always supposed to be a man whose privilege is somewhat 213
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mingled with perplexity, I should be capable of wishing that I might share those grassy strolls that you take with the friend who is (or was) staying with you who (you vous ne m’en avez touchè que deux mots) is evidently a charming person. We were three men that day at Alderbrook (I beg poor Ralli’s pardon—we were four!) one lady; but that is a different form of torture (for each of the men, that is: I know not what it may have been for the Lady!) I trust that communications with the butcher are s̷ reopened, so that Frances is not haunted with visions of poncy=steaks. Yes, I think I congratulate you on her sex: you she, by the time you have drawn breath again, will have done enough for the British army. That speech includes no apparent tribute to the intrinsic charms of the sex, but you know what I think of it that. I stick p fast, as you see, to this delightfully stupid little places place, all whose qualities are negative by that reason at the present moment the more agreeable to me. I am deliciously unsocial, couldn’t talk to any one if I would, as there is no one here to talk to save lodging=house keepers pining for absent lodgers, wan, damp passengers disembarking from Calais. You may imagine how dear I am to my landlady!—who is not cheap to me! I return to London in a few days, pay two or three brief visits, then subside into my “winter” prospects. To taste of the “joy, the thrill of life,” as Matthew Arnold calls it, before leaving Dover, I went over yesterday to Margate, (an hour 1/2 by train) to observe the humours of the British cad—as I had been given to understand that this was is the resort that he especially affects. I was well repaid, took volumes of notes, came back with my eyes eating my face, as the French say. Mme de Crécy is by M. de Courchamps he is dead these twenty years: that information is so meagre that I have been ashamed to send it. When I get back to town I will look him up. Believe, dear Lady Wolseley, that nothing could can give me greater pleasure than to think that your august retreat is in any degree enlivened, 214
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at any time, by an illegible greeting from your very distinctly faithful friend Henry James
The Lady Wolseley Tittensor Park Stoke-upon-Trent
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[Postmarks:] STOKE ON TRENT C SP 17 84[;] DOVER D SP16 84 [One illegible postmark] Previous publication: Alan James 26–27
213.33 at as • [s overwrites t]
213.34 somewhat • some= | what
214.4 touchè • [misspelled]
214.9 s̷ reopened [reo overwrites s and illegible letters]
214.11 • [blotted out]
214.14 it that • [th overwrites it] 214.14 p fast • [f overwrites p] 214.15 places place • [e overwrites es]
214.17 couldn’t • [n’t inserted]
215.1–2 your very distinctly faithful friend Henry James • [written
across the letter’s first page]
213.27–28 the news you get from Egypt • Sir Garnet Wolseley was in
Egypt on military service (see also HJ to Lady Louisa Erskine Wolseley, 3 September [1884], p. 204).
214.3 vous ni mi’en avez touchè que deux mots • you told me only
two words about.
214.5 that day at Alderbrook • Pandeli Ralli’s country house at Alder-
brook Park, Surrey. HJ and the Wolseleys were guests there in early August (see HJ to Lady Louisa Erskine Wolseley, 21 August [1884], p. 199).
215
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214.23–24 To taste of the “joy, the thrill of life,” as Matthew Arnold •
See Matthew Arnold’s “The glow, he cries, the thrill of life, / Where, where do these abound?—” ([329]).
214.28 took volumes of notes • Not extant.
214.29–30 Mme de Crécy is by M. de Courchamps • French writer Pierre-Marie-Jean Cousin de Courchamps (1783–1849) was the author of Souvenirs de la marquise de Créquy (see also HJ to Lady Louisa Erskine Wolseley, 21 August [1884], p. 200).
edmund gosse 18 September [1884] ALS Houghton bMS Am 1094.1 (124) 15
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15 Esplanade Dover Sept 18th ———— My dear Gosse. Your note alarms distresses me makes me wish doubly that you might smoke a cigarette on my balcony. I am very sorry indeed to hear that you are so abominably overworked. Your account of the time you have lacked a decent holiday is quite appalling makes me fear for your health reason!—makes me also value still more my own privilege—to which you allude—of carrying my scribblement to the seaside or elsewhere. If I had the competence for which you express a wish, I should be almost capable, in my sympathy, of dying to bequeathe it to you—or of living to share it with you. I won’t add another pang to your condition by saying that the weather, the sea, the breeze just now, here, are enchantin[g] that if you should repent feel on Saturday afternoon more free than you have been, wld. telegraph me a little in advance I shld. be delighted to help you to rest till Monday. It is all I can do for you hear here but 216
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that heartily. I have a little room a little plate for you. Yours ever Henry James There is a train from Victoria at 4.20. (over) one from Charing X at 4.30. Previous publication: Moore, Gosse 34–35
216.20 distresses • dis- | tresses
216.26 scribblement • scribble- | ment
216.28 sympathy • sym= | pathy
216.31 enchantin[g] • [written off the page]
216.34 hear here • [re overwrites ar]
217.3–4 one [. . .] at 4.30. • [written across the letter’s first page]
216.22 you are so abominably overworked • Gosse was preparing lec-
tures to deliver at the University of Cambridge in late October and also at the Lowell Institute in Boston and elsewhere in the United States between late November 1884 and late January 1885 (see also HJ to Edmund Gosse, 4 September [1884], pp. 206, 207n206.18).
thomas sergeant perry 26 September [1884] ALS Colby College Special Collections, Waterville, Maine
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3 Bolton St. Piccadilly Sept 26th ———— Dear Tommy. Your note on the quiet anniversary (kept here as a fast) came to me three days since at Dover, where I have been spending the last several weeks, fr. which I have just returned. I thank you for all its appreciation its friendly feeling, which 217
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makes me feel that I dont didn’t write my few remarks in Longman in vain. But it is the only thing that does make me feel so—for my poor article has not attracted the smallest attention here I haven’t heard, or seen, an allusion to it. There is almost no care for literary discussion here,—questions of form, of principle, the “serious” idea of the novel c, appeals apparently to no one, they don’t understand you when you speak of them. There is in the Sept. Blackwood a rather clever article (by Mrs. Oliphant) on Crawford, Anstey c, but that is the ultimatum of any such discussion, though she is quite right in falling foul of those gentleman gentlemen, you will see how utterly superficial old fashioned is her tone. The necessary complement of my Longman artic article shld. be another, of the same length, which I haven’t time to write now (I am awfully driven) but shall write when I can. In it I shall say fifty things more that I had no space for in the other—go into questions of detail, c. Your project of the fiction=periodical strikes me as both propitious the reverse—that is, I am afraid it will be too much novel at once, the examples ought to be awfully good to carry off the precepts. But I wish the thing all success. Yes, I have read Desprez’s Evolution, which is contains some interesting things. But the young Naturalists in France are perishing in their dirtiness their ignorance. Have you read Huysman’s au Rebours? It seems to me to have all the signs of complete decadence—elaborate incurable rot. I am glad to you like Paul Bourget’s products—he is a great friend of mine—has been spending the summer in England (he came down to Dover paid me a little visit) has just gone back to England. (I enclose you, in a note of his, his utterance on my Longman article— excuse the apparent fatuity of the proceeding.) He s[i]mply adores England all it contains, speaks very darkly painfully of France (its moral, social condition c.) He is too much of a dilettante, but he is very sympathetic attractive being (aet. about 33) has a most subtle brilliant little intelligence is one 218
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of the most charming ingenious talkers I ever met. (But he has a kind of false factitious ideal of “cosmopolitism”, c.) Here, ther[e] is no literary interest, for [s]imple reason (among many others) that nothing lives in England to-day but politics. They are all-devouring, their brutal uproar crowds everything out. This is more more the case; we are evidently on the edge of an enormous political cycle, which will last heaven knows how long. I should hate it more if I didn’t also find it interesting. The present political drama is can’t help being so, in spite of the [i]mbecility of so many of the actors. The air is full of events, of changes, of movement (some people wld. say of revolution, but I don’t think that,) it has been a strange spectacle to see the question of the House of Lords, pass, before one’s eyes, in a few weeks, with a sort of physical movement, into intense actuality.—I don’t think I think Violet Paget great, but I think her a most astounding young femal[e] Euphorion most fascinating [] su[ggest]ive, as well as “monstrous clever”. She has a prodigious cerebration. She has been in England this summer, I have seen a good deal of her. She has written a novel (“very radical atheistic”) called Miss Brown which is soon to be published by Blackwood, which she tells me she is to do me the honour to dedicate to yours ever faithfully H. James!
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T. Sargen[t] [Per]ry esq. 312 Marlborough St. Boston. Mass. United States. 30
[Postmark:] FORWARDED[;] BOSTON OCT 18 [Partially legible postmark:] LONDO[N] X SP26 84 5 219
The Complete Letters of Henry James Previous publication: Harlow 317–18
[The original manuscript is damaged. The bracketed insertions are taken from Harlow’s edition of the letter. It is possible that Harlow saw the undamaged or a less damaged manuscript.]
218.9 Crawford • [w malformed]
218.11 gentleman gentlemen • [e overwrites a]
218.12 com- | plement
218.17 periodical • period- | ical
218.24 complete • [co overwrites illegible letter]
218.30 .) • [) overwrites —; . inserted]
218.32 con- | dition
219.3 for [s]imple • [though Harlow records neither a definite nor an indefi-
nite article before “simple,” there is room on the damaged part of the manuscript for either one] 219.9 is can’t • [c overwrites is]
219.17 [] • [Harlow has &]
219.19 seen • [n malformed]
219.25 • [evidence on the envelope from a hand not HJ’s indicates that the letter was forwarded to Perry at Readville, Massachusetts]
217.31 quiet anniversary (kept here as a fast) • Harlow suggests that this
might be the anniversary of the James family’s departure for Europe in 1859 (317).
218.1–2 my few remarks in Longman • “The Art of Fiction.”
218.8–9 a rather clever article (by Mrs. Oliphant) • “Three Young
Novelists.”
218.14–15 shall write when I can. • HJ never wrote the complement.
218.16–17 Your project of the fiction=periodical • Possibly Perry’s con-
tribution, “The Progress of Literature,” to C. E. Beale’s The World’s Progress, which was sold not as a periodical but as a subscription volume (Harlow 134). 218.21 Desprez’s Evolution • L’évolution naturaliste, by Louis Desprez (1861–85).
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1884 218.23–24 Huysman’s au Rebours • À rebours, by Joris-Karl Huysmans, pen name of Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans (1848–1907). The novel signaled a shift in the Naturalist movement in France.
218.29 my Longman article • “The Art of Fiction.”
219.22 to dedicate to yours ever faithfully • HJ was, finally, appalled by
Violet Paget’s honor.
archibald philip primrose, lord rosebery 26 September [1884]
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ALS National Library of Scotland MS 10086, f. 128–31
3 Bolton St. Piccadilly Sept. 26th ———— My dear Rosebery I see you are forbidden to “transact business”, but I hope that reading a few words from a distant friend admirer won’t come under the ban. I deplore your accident, which I am afraid was a nasty one, but hope it brings some comfort with it, in the shape of a pretext for rest. To think that sweet domain of Dalmeny should contain such unmannerly pif pitfalls; I hope you will have them stopped up before you ride again. I haven’t much to tell you but that I would gladly smoothe your pillow, if I were there— would even sacrifice a bone or two ( I am fond of my bones) that yours should be restored to symmetry. I have been living for the last seven weeks out of the world, at the seaside, a speechless, friendless, scribbling existence, in which my brightest excitement was reading about you—reading you—in the newspapers wondering whether if I should come to Scotland at such a moment you would invite me to Dalmeny. It isn’t because I decided that question in the negative that I didn’t come, but because the charms, of this year, of my native 221
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England have been really irresistible. I have always said that if it had a climate it would be paradise, this year it has had one I was obliged to stay to pro[ve] my dictum. I wonder if you can read— send you a very thin, superficial little book, gathered 5
out i of magazines, not destined to the honour of republication in this country, on the chance. You may read, after all, yet not read that! Also an article in a periodical—if I can find it— which is better. I see the grand old Family are with you again,
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could almost congratulate you, therefore, on a fracture which isolates you. I owe Lady Rosebery a letter scarcely venture to send her a message while I am so much in default. But I imagine her in the attitude of Florence Nightingale, Sybil Peggy as little nightingales in training. Be patient, my dear Rosebery,
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be convalscent, sometimes—in your salutary if irksome leisure,—reflect on the cordial —if ineffectual!— friendship of yours very faithfully Henry James No previous publication
221.23 unmannerly • un- | mannerly
221.23 pif pitfalls • [t overwrites f ]
221.30 excitement • excite- | ment
221.33 because • be- | cause
222.2 paradise • para | dise; [any word-division symbol is covered by thick
tape] 222.3 pro[ve] • [manuscript covered by thick tape; this bracketed, italicized insertion is taken from Creighton University’s transcription of the letter by Leon Edel, who may have seen the manuscript without tape] 222.4 read • [r overwrites illegible letter] 222.5 i of • [o overwrites i]
222.14 convalscent • [misspelled]
222.14 sometimes • [second m malformed]
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221.19–20 admirer won’t come under the ban [. . .] accident • That is, a
visitation ban. On 22 September 1884 Lord Rosebery was thrown from his horse and suffered “a broken collar-bone and other injuries,” leaving him unable to work and receive visitors for several weeks (Stoddart 79–80).
221.22–23 that sweet domain of Dalmeny • Located west of Edinburgh,
Dalmeny Park was one of Rosebery’s country homes. HJ first visited Dalmeny in late September 1881.
222.4 superficial little book • A Little Tour in France was published on
5 September 1884.
222.7 an article in a periodical • “The Art of Fiction.”
lady louisa erskine wolseley [26 September to 14 November 1884]; Friday
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ALS Hove Central Library, Church Road, Hove, Sussex James MS (3)
Dear Lady Wolseley. How I thank you for your elasticity! I shall be charmed to go with you Lady Hayter to any possible place of amusement(from a Richter concert to the Westminster Aquarium) on Friday 21st. I await your commands, am ever faithfully yours Henry James. Friday. ———— Previous publication: Alan James 28
223.22 amusement • amuse- | ment
223.22 ( • [( overwrites —]
223.15 [26 September to 14 November 1884]; Friday • This date range
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223.21 Lady Hayter • Henrietta Hope Hayter (1842–1929), wife of Sir
Arthur Divett Hayter (1835–1917), a Liberal MP and colleague of Sir Garnet Wolseley at the War Office.
223.22 Richter concert • Hungarian conductor Hans Richter (1843–
1916) gave multiple series of popular concerts in London from 1879 to 1897 (see Alan James 28n2). In the autumn of 1884 the concerts were performed on 28 October, 4 November, and 11 November (“Richter Concerts” 1).
benjamin holt ticknor 28 September [1884] 25
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3 Bolton St. Piccadilly Sept 28th Dear Mr. Ticknor. I find the 6 copies of the the Little Tour on my return from a long absence in the country; for which many thanks. I 224
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should like you to send me 1/2 a dozen more, to direct a few author’s copies to be sent to the addresses I enclose. I ought to have given you these names before; but better late than never. The opening chapters of “The Bostonians,” the novel for the Century, have gone to New York, the next are following, I earnestly hope they will begin publication with as little delay as possible. Please keep the list of names for the Little Tour use it again for the forthcoming “Tales,” when that volume appeared appears. I lately published an article (The Art of Fiction) in Longman, without appending a warning as to the U. S. copyright. But I did this on purpose, as the paper was not a story. I don’t like to flaunt that American claim here for anything but stories, consider that the reproduction (partial or entire) of that article in the U. S. would will have done me more good than harm—as it will have advertised my ficti fictions”! When you write me again will you kindly enclose Howells’s new address? Ever yours Henry James Author’s copies of A little Tour. Mr. Richardson, the architect, whose initials I don’t know, whose address is Brookline! Will you please affix the right initials? 2/ William James Esq. Appian way, Cambridge ———— 3/ Miss Grace Norton Kirkland St Cambridge ———— 4/ Mrs. Lodge. 129 Mount Vernon St. Boston. 5/ T. B. Aldrich esq. Mount Vernon St. Boston. ———— 225
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6/ Mrs. Owen Wister Butler Place Branchtown, Philadelphia. ———— 7/ Miss Emma Lazarus 10 West 10th St. New York. ———— 8 Mrs. Walsh 121 West 44th St New York. P.S. A tale of mine “The Path of Duty” (of which I think I have already sent you the name) appears in the Xmas no. the English Illustrated (Macmillan’s,” will be accompanied by a note respecting the American copyright. When this has appeared I shall have 4 or 5 recent tales waiting to be collected. They may come out as soon after the Three Cities as you please, with the “Author of Beltraffio” en tête giving its name to the volume. Previous publication: Horne 162 [Yale portion only]
225.1 , • [, overwrites .]
225.9 appeared appears • [s overwrites ed]
225.13 consider • con- | sider
225.15–16 ficti fictions • [ons overwrites illegible letters]
224.3o–225.17 3 Bolton St. [. . .] Henry James • [this portion of the letter
is archived at Yale University] 225.7 the Little Tour • A Little Tour in France had just been published on 5 September.
225.8 the forthcoming “Tales,” • Probably Tales of Three Cities, pub-
lished on 17 October.
225.13–14 the reproduction (partial or entire) of that article • HJ’s
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1884 essay was pirated in November 1884 by the Boston publisher Cupples, Upham and Company.
225.17 Howells’s new address • 302 Beacon Street, Boston.
225.18–226.18 Author’s copies [. . .] giving its name to the volume. •
[this portion of the letter is archived at the Library of Congress]
225.18 Mr. Richardson, the architect • American architect Henry
Hobson Richardson (1838–86); he was an acquaintance of WJ (see CLHJ, 1878–1880 2: 175n172.32). He lived at 25 Cottage St. in Brookline, Massachusetts.
226.1 Mrs. Owen Wister • Sarah Butler Wister (1835–1908), Philadel-
phia literary critic, daughter of Frances Anne “Fanny” Kemble,” and close friend of HJ. Her husband was Dr. Owen Jones Wister (1825–96).
226.9 Mrs. Walsh • AK.
226.12–13 I have already sent you the name • See 23 May [1884] to
Benjamin Holt Ticknor (p. 128). 226.18 en tête • at the head, i.e. first.
katharine sands godkin 2, 5 October [1884] ALS Houghton
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3 Bolton St Piccadilly October 2d ———— Dear Mrs. Godkin. Your allusion to the possibility of your most kind charming letter “not eliciting a response,” shows me that you have already acquired all the arts of the journalist are mistress of that brilliant satire for which your “organ” has been so long distinguished. I was delighted to hear from you I lose scarcely a day in thanking you for the truly benevolent impulse which prompted your letter. It finds me redomiciled in London for the autumn winter—having returned a few days ago from a series 227
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of delightfully quiet unsociable weeks at the seaside, during which I have been trying, not ineffectually, to catch up with some of those belated literary engagements to which London is never, alas, too favourable. I went to Dover a in the early part of August, remained there till a week ago, while I was there scarcely spoke to a creature, did very little but scribble look at the coast of France, which, thanks to a summer of extraordinarily beautiful weather, seemed only across the way. But I got no nearer to it than that, didn’t want to, as England, just now, is the most interesting country in Europe. Since I have lived here I have almost always been, at this season, either abroad or in Scotland; but the longer I live here I find that whatever slices of absolute repose one can insert between the huge chunks of vie mondaine of which London is so largely composed, have an inestimable price. London just now is supposed to be a desert, but it is never without its oasis. For instance I dined two days ago with your brother, very pleasantly. Mrs. Sands was not yet visible, our party, small select, consisted of Mrs. Hartpence, Lord Wharncliffe your humble correspondent. I have also seen Lowell again, who is recovering himself after a very bad visitation of gout, which in a few weeks has made him both look I suspect feel, a good deal older. Old as he may feel, however ( it is only comparative) he has still youth enough, I suspect, to mis regret greatly the prospective loss of his charming position here, which he regards as certain, whatever may be the issue of the campaign at home. He has been living in social material clover, the pet of countesses, the habitué of palaces, the intimate of dukes; he will have to give it all up, in order to live again in the suburb of a suburb, look after his furnace, see that his plank walk ha is laid down! I regard him as the sport of fortune, his situation preoccupies me much, I la lie awake at night thinking of it. For Mrs. L., who has blossomed out amazingly, the change will be equally great; she will have to relinquish her ambassadorial coach take to high 228
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dresses horse-cars. But I don’t envy the man of either party, who is named to suffer succeed Lowell here. He has made such extraordinarily good speeches that the next comer will be judged by a high standard. Your account of your summer is very pleasant pastoral, you were nearer to the bosom of nature than I, at Dover, living on the “Marine Parade,” infected with German bands nigger=minstrels. You will not lose sight of nature, I take it, now at Cambridge, you will gain sight of Charles Norton hearing of dear F. J. Child. I hope, too, you will see my brother, the next favour I should prize from you after writing to me again yourself would be that you should persuade him to write to me. Your letter gives me a vivid sense of the lively times you are passing through at home, of the deepening excitement of the coming election—yet it doesn’t, I confess, make me wish to see it nearer. From here—or to me, at least, neither of the two alternatives seem very inspiring, the frauds foulnesses either party tries to fix on the other, or the other’s candidate, seem strike one as rather a melancholy issue of “free institutions”. In America, on the spot, they are doubtless more exhilari exhilarating. Here, too, there is nothing but politics in the air, politics which just now, are very interesting. English life grows more more political and public matters are almost the only thing that people will talk about or listen to. Oct 5th My letter was interrupted three days ago, I have no time to go on with it till this moment. It is the 1st Sunday in October, which ought to give one time for anything, London being so quiet empty that you can hear a pin fall—or find it in Piccadilly. But all my “quiet” hours are dedicated, in advance, to my correspondence, even when there is nothing else to do there is never time enough, for me, for that. I don’t know exactly what I was going to tell you above, unless that there is to be an autumn session of parliament (next month) a thing that has happened for many years which will probably bring 229
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about a Fran compromise between the Lords commons in respect to their present dispute about the Franchise. The poor Lords seem to have behaved in a mann quite natural to Lords—I don’t see the use in having them if they are to behave just like commons. They give a pleasant variety to life, if they are abolished they will, I am sure, be painfully missed. If I weren’t afraid of striking you as a fearful backslider, I should say that the prospect of an England pervaded wholly by Gladstone Chamberlain denuded of its charming old survivals from the past, fills me with melancholy. She will lose her originality l be like the other countries, that will be a grievous pity. Come out here quickly, before that happens. I greatly hope you will be able to manage that next year—though if you come early I shall miss you, alas, at first, as I expect to absent myself, sternly, from this fatal city after the month of April. But you will come early stay late, I shall see you after the hurricane has passed over. I shall send this to New Rochelle, as I gather from your letter that you are to spend this month in the country. I envy you the sparkling days, filled with gorgeous colour, that I know you must be having. And when you return are you to inhabit 25th St? I feel a kind of property in that mansion a solicitude about its fate. Thank you for your news of Mrs. Fred Jones Mrs. Baldy Smith; that the Muses (of conversation) shld. have appeared to me under the names of Jones Smith is a strange freak of fate, but so it is! I wish I could hear them now, especially Mrs. F. Jones, the muse of Philadelphia. Her father was here last Summer, but he eluded my attention. Please to give my love to E. L. G. ask him if he expects to get through the winter without a visit to Washington. Clarence King (who wants to be naturalized here!) has gone home, I should like to encounter Mrs. Adams after she has been exposed to his conversation. What will she do if Blaine is elected? Don’t doubt how much I value the privilege of hearing from you, confirm me in the 230
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enjoyment of it, believe me, dear Mrs. Godkin, very faithfully yours, H. James. No previous publication
228.1 delightfully • delight- | fully
228.4 Dover • [D overwrites illegible letter] 228.4 a in • [in overwrites a]
228.19 correspondent • corres- | pondent
228.23 comparative • com- | parative
228.32 la lie • [i overwrites a]
229.6 infected • in- | fected
229.7 nigger=minstrels • nigger= | minstrels
229.8 Cambridge • Cam= | bridge
229.18 melancholy • melan- | choly
229.20 exhilari exhilarating • [a overwrites second i]
230.3 mann • [misspelled]
230.6 painfully • pain- | fully
230.9 Chamberlain • Chamber- | lain
230.10 l • [ overwrites l]
227.18 katharine sands godkin • Katharine Buckley Sands (1846–1907) married Edwin Lawrence Godkin in 1884. She was his second wife. 228.14 vie mondaine • social life.
228.17 your brother • Mahlon Sands (1842–88), husband of Mary Mor-
ton Hartpence Sands.
228.17 Mrs. Sands • Mary Morton Hartpence Sands (1853–96), wife of
Mahlon Sands.
228.18–19 Mrs. Hartpence • Martha Morton Hartpence (1829–1915),
mother of Mary Morton Hartpence Sands.
228.19 Lord Wharncliffe • Edward Montagu Stuart Granville-
Montagu-Stuart-Wortley-Mackenzie, 1st Earl of Wharncliffe (1827–99).
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228.20 Lowell • James Russell Lowell.
228.24–25 the prospective loss of his charming position here • Lowell
served as minister to Great Britain until May 1885, replaced, as HJ seems to have anticipated, by the civil service reform campaign of new president Grover Cleveland.
228.30 his plank walk • Wooden planks placed over sidewalks to help
pedestrians keep their feet dry in wet weather were prevalent enough in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that in 1889 the city council passed a special ordinance to require licensing to control them (City of Cambridge 118–19).
228.32 Mrs. L. • J. R. Lowell’s wife, Frances “Fanny” Dunlap Lowell
(1825–85).
229.1–2 the man of either party, who is named to [. . .] succeed
Lowell here • President Cleveland, a Democrat, appointed Edward J. Phelps, also a Democrat, to succeed Lowell.
229.6 “Marine Parade” • Tourist and vacation area on the seacoast in
Dover that was heavily damaged during World War II.
229.9 F. J. Child • Francis James Child (1825–96), Harvard professor
of English and editor of English and Scottish Popular Ballads; his wife, Elizabeth Ellery Sedgwick Child, and their children lived in Cambridge and were longtime family friends of the Jameses.
229.10 my brother • WJ.
229.14 the coming election • Grover Cleveland (Democrat) defeated
James G. Blaine (Republican) in the 1884 US presidential election, held on 4 November.
230.2 dispute about the Franchise • Parliament was debating what
would be adopted on 6 December as the Representation of the People Act, 1884, commonly called the Third Reform Act, which increased considerably the size of the electorate.
230.5–6 if they are abolished • With the House of Lords having
refused to pass the Third Reform Act, there were Liberal calls for its abolition (Moore 35).
230.8–9 Gladstone Chamberlain • HJ seems to be using Liberal
Prime Minister William E. Gladstone and Radical Joseph Chamberlain
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230.22 Mrs. Fred Jones • Mary Cadwalader Rawle Jones (1850–1935),
author, literary agent, and socialite, was married to Frederic Rhinelander Jones (1846–1918; m. 1870), Edith Wharton’s brother.
230.22–23 Mrs. Baldy Smith • Sarah Ward Lyon (1840–99), wife of
William Farrar “Baldy” Smith (1824–1903).
230.26 Her father • Mary Cadwalader Jones’s father was William
Henry Rawle (1823–89).
230.28 E. L. G. • Edwin Lawrence Godkin.
230.31 Mrs. Adams • Marian “Clover” Hooper Adams (1843–85),
photographer, art collector, conversationalist, and wife of Henry Adams, whom she married in 1872.
230.32 Blaine • James G. Blaine was the Republican presidential nomi-
nee in 1884.
marcus bourne huish 2 October 1884 ALS Johns Hopkins University, Sheridan Libraries, Special Collections
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3 Bolton St. Piccadilly Oct 2d 1884. Dear Sir. I am very sorry to say it will be impossible to me to write the article on Niagara, for the Prss. Louise’s drawing. I have not seen the place for many years, at the time I did so uttered my impressions in an article (which has been republished) which has left me nothing more to say. I am likewise just now much pressed with other work. Believe me truly yours Henry James Marcus Huish esq. ———— 233
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233.18 marcus bourne huish • Huish (1843–1921) was an English writer, art critic, and editor of Art Journal from 1881 to 1892.
233.29 article (which has been republished) • HJ’s essay “Niagara,” first
published in the Nation, was reprinted in Portraits of Places.
louisa putnam loring 10
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3 Bolton St. W. Oct 2d Dear Miss Louisa. I must thank you kindly for your letter, which is full of interesting information. I am delighted that you appear to “do” at Bournemouth, that you have fields of heather in front of your windows; also that your father succeeds in not boring himself too much. But you must count the weeks till Katherine’s return, I trust that you will soon hear from her that it is not to be long delayed. I am hoping to hear from Alice at the same moment—just after Katherine has arrived. I am afraid she fell upon hot weather, as I am afraid suspect there has been plenty of it all this month. Hatchards’ in Piccadilly, opposite the Burlington Arcade (,or a little beyond;) or better still Bickers’s on the upper side of Leicester Square, are very good booksellers. I recommend the latter—he is best in London. The mens-hosiers--glovers, (as they call that sort of shop here) are all good. I go to Dare, on the corner of Piccadilly 1/2 Moon St. for all my things; he is very obliging, will get you handkerchiefs of every colour of the rainbow. I hope you 234
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are having a drive this afternoon in the pine woods. They must remind you of your native vegetation. As you give me no address at By Bournemouth (Americans scarcely n ever put any thing but the name of the place at the top of their letters— never the house: why is this thus?) I shall have to send again to Baring’s. Give my kind remembrances to your father continue to be “fit”, as they say here. Believe me ever faithfully yours Henry James No previous publication
234.31 hosiers--glovers • hosiers- | --glovers 235.3 n ever • [e overwrites n]
235.6 remembrances • re= | membrances
234.9 louisa putnam loring • Loring (1854–1924), younger sister of Katharine Peabody Loring, was known for her philanthropic work in hospitals. She suffered from tuberculosis and chronic ill-health.
234.20 Bournemouth • Louisa, her sister, Katharine, and their father,
Caleb William Loring, were staying in Bournemouth, England, until Katharine left in September for Boston.
234.21 your father • Caleb William Loring (1819–97).
234.22–23 Katherine’s return • Katharine Peabody Loring returned
to Boston from Bournemouth on 20 September. She and AJ sailed from Boston to England on 1 November. When they docked, Loring traveled directly to Bournemouth, and HJ brought AJ to London.
234.24 Alice • AJ.
234.27 Hatchards’ • Messrs. Hatchards, 187 Piccadilly, the oldest bookshop in London.
234.29 Bickers’s • Bickers and Son booksellers at 1 Leicester Square
in London. There was a second location at 40 Lisle Street. 234.32 Dare • Dare and Company, 89 Piccadilly West, London.
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Dear William. I have your letter of September 20th, written the night day after your return from the country, speaking, alas, ho of your mysterious fever. How strange inconvenient are such visitations!—I grieve greatly to hear that they have played such tricks with your holiday. I had not heard how you were, hoped you every thing was propitious; I greatly hope it has all blown over now. I have been in very little communication with you of late was just on the point (yesterday) of writing to your Alice when your letter came. I have wanted to write to her for a long time, it has only been constant accumulations of other writing that have made it impossible. Give much love to her from me, tell her to take this for herself as well as for you. I have been back in London for ten days, after seven or eight weeks at the seaside (the cocknefied seaside of Dover,) which I greatly enjoyed. I had my time all to myself, there wasn’t a creature there I knew, the weather was perfect (though much of the time roasting hot) the sea charming crowded with all the entertaining sails that strain through that narrow channel. I had very comfortable lodgings, achieved what I desired—got on with my the novel I am writing for the Century which will begin to appear in February. It is a better subject than I have ever had before, I think will be much the best thing I have done yet. It is called “t The Bostonians.” I shall be much abused for the title but it exactly literally fits the story, is much the best, simplest most dignified I could have chosen.—I have been solicitous about the issue of your undertaking to do 236
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something for the F. Pollocks in the mountains, hope that they your fever were not on you together. But I shall see them when they come back they will tell me. Wendell Holmes’s washing his hands of them is un peu trop fort! Alice’s advent here is by this time (in prospect) a familiar idea, though I feel naturally a good deal of solicitude about it. It is certainly a good thing for her to do; if she can resign adjust herself to a long rythm, as it were, of improvemet instead of a short one, I have no doubt, solid results will come to her. But she ought to be prepared to spend three years. I don’t know what she will do, don’t exactly see how I can (when she is alone) be either with her or without her—that is, away from her. But this will doubtless settle itself; if she learns to become more sociable with the world at large (as I think she will have to, in self=preservation,) the problem will be solved. I have not yet heard from her since K. Loring’s return, don’t know when she will sail. The note you enclosed from Bob (from “North Lake, Wis”) was the first news of any sort that I have had about him in a long time. It seems to point to a complete rupture of relations with his wife, which I am glad to hear of, as it must much simplify the situation. I am very glad he still paints, but what a strange places for the pursuit of art! Perhaps he will become the greate̷s̷ Western original artist. I shall write to him before long. Nothing exists in England at present but politics; as there is to be (for the 1st time in many years) an autumn session of parliament, we shall have still more of it. It is rather an exciting drama, (not—to me—for what is on the surface, but for the tides of change the manifestations of the Zeitgeist beneath.) I have seen much this summer of a very interesting Frenchman, Paul Bourget, though he has returned to Paris shall see him more. I hope, devoutly, that by this time your eyes are better. Much love to Alice all wishes for your coming exertions. What have you done toward Father’s volume? Tell me in your next. Ever your H. James 237
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236.15 communication • communi- | cation
236.22 cocknefied • [misspelled]
236.27 comfortable • com | fortable
236.31 t The • [T overwrites t]
236.32 but • [b overwrites ]
236.34 been • [n malformed]
237.1 F • [F overwrites illegible letter]
237.8 rythm • [misspelled]
237.8 improvemet • [misspelled]
237.23 original • origin- | al
237.29 Frenchman • French | man
237.31–34 Much love [. . .] your H. James • [written across the letter’s
first page]
236.10–237.1 your return from the country [. . .] your undertaking to
do something for the [. . .] F. Pollocks • WJ returned from a week in the Keene Valley in northern New York State, where he hosted legal scholar and longtime friend of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sir Frederick Pollock (1845–1937), and his wife, Lady Georgina Harriet Deffell Pollock (c. 1847– 1935; m. 1873).
237.3–4 Wendell Holmes’s washing his hands of them • The editors of
CWJ speculate that “[p]erhaps Holmes, so as not to interrupt his work, refused to entertain” the Pollocks (1: 384n1).
237.4 un peu trop fort! • a bit much!
237.4–5 Alice’s advent here • AJ arrived with Katharine Peabody Lor-
ing at Liverpool on 11 November 1884.
237.17 Bob • RJ.
237.19–20 complete rupture of relations with his wife • RJ became es-
tranged from his wife, Mary, and their children, Ned (Edward) and Mary, when, due to alcoholism, an unfulfilling career, hostility toward his family at home, and his involvement with another woman, RJ left Milwaukee for Cambridge (see Maher 169–74).
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237.26–27 an exciting drama • Parliament was debating what would be
adopted on 6 December as the Representation of the People Act, 1884, commonly called the Third Reform Act (see HJ to Katharine Sands Godkin, 2, 5 October [1884], p. 229–30).
237.33 Father’s volume • The Literary Remains of the Late Henry James.
james russell lowell 9 October 1884 TLC Harvard University, Pusey Theatre Collection
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3 Bolton St., W. Oct. 9th (1884). My dear Minister, I forgot this afternoon to utter to you one of my principal memoranda, which was that a good friend of mine, with whom I think you have had some correspondence, Edmund Gosse, desires greatly, before he goes to America, which he is presently to do, to deliver some Lowell lectures on Eng. Literature, to supremely qualify himself by coming to see you, and has asked me to be his introducer. I have ventured to assume that you won’t repel his suit, and have even suggested to him next Saturday afternoon (as I am to be away all next week) as a convenient time to bring him. I shall come with him therefore toward six o’clock, unless I hear from you that you shall not be at home. If I hear nothing I shall take for granted that we shall find you, to the great satisfaction of Gosse, who is a very nice fellow indeed and a very agreeable writer. Ever faithfully yours Henry James.
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239.20 Lowell lectures on Eng. Literature • Gosse delivered six lec-
tures at the Lowell Institute in Boston over the first part of December 1884 on English literary history from Shakespeare to Pope.
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3 Bolton St. W. Oct. 21st ———— Dear Miss Paget. The kindness of your note, of Miss Abdy-Williams’s, makes me regret—passionately—the necessity I have been under of returning that fair editress an answer so much less gracious than your accomplished selves. I am literally up to my neck in engagements already formed to supply fiction to periodicals with which I have been long in intercourse (the Atlantic, Century, Harper, c;) I dont see my way to any prospect of depositing my footprints on the sands of Time. But I can feel none the less the honour of your recommendation, as and is the amiable words with which it is accompanied, as well as of your friend’s appeal. I am sadly afraid she will find the Market overstocked with that the particular commodity that she seeks to send to it, that dead Cornhills are not to be revived. Excuse these sinister remarks! I have just been reading the new instalment (conclusion) of Froude’s Carlyle am tinged with pessimism in consequence. This does not, however, prevent me from giving my blessing to the new magazine. I am greatly interested in the coming advent of Miss Brown, shall give her, the valuable portrait, my most sympathetic attention. But to 240
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tell the truth it frightens me a little that you should attach to me the honour of an invocation, however casual; it is an honour I am really not de taille to carry. I have been reading your Euphorion I find it such a prodigious young performance, so full of intellectual power, knowledge, brilliancy, the air of being comme chez vous at the dizziest heights of the i Idea— that dedications should ▬ come to you not from you. Please hint that you offer me Miss Brown only to encourage me! I dined 2 days since with the plastic John, who was in town from Petworth where he is painting the portrait of a lady whose merits as a model require all his airey airy airy manipulation to be expressed (in speech.) I trust it is a happy effort will bring him fame shekels here. I see poor Hillebrand’s death in the newspapers grieve for the event for that poor devoted woman, devoted for so many years. I am afraid she has passed some very sad months during the last few, wonder what will be left to her in her deaf old age. Hillebrand was a brilliant intelligence had good reasons for living yet. He had been very very friendly to me of old I liked him much. Of what use then to dwell by the Arno, to have given years to Italy the lovely literature the delusion, if the commonest ills must overtake you? May you live to a hundred, always by the Arno, except when you are on Kensington leads. I shall write to Madame Hillebrand as soon as I dare.—Bourget has returned to his Parisian element, to cultivate homesickness (for England) as a phase of culture a quality of high civilization. Miss Robinson I have not again seen, but it is a pleasure I shall give myself soon, as a definite sign of that the Season of fireside joys has set in. If you can put your hand on the 2 last vols. of Froude’s Carlyle, don’t fail to read them; they are deeply entertaining. He (Carlyle) appears to me to have been no more of a thinker than my blotting-paper, but absorbent (like that,) to a tremendous degree, of life; a prodigious feeler painter; as a painter indeed, one of the very first of all. I wish you, dear Miss 241
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Paget, the freest happiest exercise your admirable mind, am ever faithfully yours Henry James. Previous publication: HJL 3: 49–51
240.24 recommendation • recommend= | ation
240.24 as and • [n overwrites s] 240.24–25 is the • [th overwrites is]
240.27 overstocked • over- | stocked
240.28 revived • re= | vived
241.4 Euphorion • [underline overwrites .]
241.5 knowledge • knowl= | edge
241.6 i Idea • [I overwrites i] 241.11 airey airy • [air overwrites aire]
241.16 , • [, overwrites .]
241.18 • [ overwrites —]
241.27 pleasure • pleas= | ure
242.1 happiest • happi= | est
240.16 Miss Abdy-Williams • English novelist Ellen Mary Abdy Wil-
liams Wishaw (1857–1937), editor of Time: A Monthly Miscellany of Interesting and Amusing Literature from January 1885 to March 1886. She married Bernard Wishaw (1852–1914) in 1885 and was a playwright under her married name, Mrs. Bernard Wishaw.
240.23 depositing my footprints on the sands of Time • HJ playfully
appropriates famous lines from Longfellow’s “The Psalm of Life”: Lives of great men all remind us We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time.
240.30 Froude’s Carlyle • Thomas Carlyle: A History of His Life in Lon-
don, 1834–81, which HJ refers to in “The Correspondence of Carlyle and Emerson” (265–66).
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240.32 new magazine • Probably not a new magazine per se but the
“new series” of Time: A Monthly Miscellany of Interesting and Amusing Literature under the editorship of Abdy-Williams, which would begin in January 1885. Paget’s (Vernon Lee’s) “Signor Curiazio: A Musical Medley” was the first tale in the first issue. 241.3 de taille • up to. 241.4 Euphorion • Euphorion: Being Studies of the Antique and Medieval in the Renaissance.
241.6 comme chez vous • feeling at home.
241.9–10 plastic John [. . .] portrait of a lady • John Singer Sargent was
painting his portait of Mrs. Albert Vickers (Edith Foster).
241.13–15 poor Hillebrand’s death [. . .] poor devoted woman • Karl
Arnold Hillebrand died in Florence on 19 October 1884. Hillebrand’s wife was Jessie Taylor Laussot Hillebrand (1826–1905), a musician and benefactor of Richard Wagner (with whom she was briefly involved in 1850). She married Hillebrand in 1879.
241.26 Miss Robinson • Poet and biographer Agnes Mary F. Robinson
(1857–1944), with whom Paget had a close relationship and to whom Paget dedicated Belcaro, Being Essays on Sundry Aesthetical Considerations. Mary Robinson married James Darmesteter in 1888. Her second marriage was to Émile Duclaux in 1901.
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billows high between us, and I have been from day to day saying to myself that I must break the unnatural silence. It is now most satisfactorily broken. With yours comes also a copious communication from A. K. in which she tells me as much as possible about you—all of which, thank heaven, is mainly good. Your own news is pretty much of the same quality, and I am happy to say there are no different tidings for me to send you in return. I shall hear a good deal about you this evening, for I am to dine at the Frdk. Pollock’s,—Mrs. P. having written to ask me, the other day, in order that she might impart to me how “wonderfully good to them” you had been. This I am very glad to hear, and hope you found some reward (from their nature) in it. Remember, if you can, to tell me whether W. Holmes did invite them; I cannot resist a curiosity to know. I am now definitely settled here for the winter, plodding along at my two novels. They will both be much better than anything I have done yet. Of course my main outlook just at this moment is the prospect of Alice’s arrival ten days hence, when I go to Liverpool to meet her. I am to hire a maid in the interval and take her with me, K. Loring going straight away to her own family. I feel a great deal of “responsibility” in regard to her being here, but am determined to take it easily. I am moreover quite in the dark as to her plans, and don’t know what she proposes to attempt. She has intimated that she would not be at Bournemouth with K. L., and yet I don’t suppose she intends to spend the winter in London. My fears are mainly for her solitude, if she escapes that, she will thrive. I will let you know all about her after she has got her land-legs. I knew Bob was with you, having lately heard from Carrie that he had left Wisconsin. She added a story of his being in love with another woman, a beautiful invalid, whom he wished to marry after divorcing Mary, and of his having announced this to Mary and to herself, etc. You don’t mention this, and of course couldn’t, with Bob holding the pen,—but I trust to hear more about him the next 244
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time you write, with a more transparent amanuensis. Meanwhile I hear with much satisfaction from A. K. that you tell her his health is better than for a good while—and I trust some practical relief, occupation, quiet, etc., may come to him from it, and for you, I earnestly pray, much exemption from interference from him, etc. I hope he is not a burden to you now in this way, and groan, helplessly, to think of it. If he be—I am delighted at your being, by your own report, in good form, and very happy in what you tell me about your children. May all these next years be comfortable for them, and for you and Alice. I am very glad to hear Father’s book is so near appearing; be sure an early copy is sent me. I had no regret at seeing the fragment in the Atlantic: it is very beautiful and characteristic and will be thought so by every one who gives it any attention. But it is important he be designated the late H. J.: that is better, I think, than “Sr.” This point, however, will have been already arranged by you. How strange it seems to be doing these things over Father’s grave— he vanished into darkness and silence—far away—where?— and without movement in it or sound, and his face and voice already becoming a legend, a dim thing, of another life!—The most interesting thing I have read in a long time is the 2 last vols. of Froude’s Carlyle. They are tremendously suggestive and entertaining. He seems to me more and more to have been a black hearted friend, morally, and a monster of egotism and all the vices of invidiousness,—but of the very 1st magnitude as a writer and painter, and his life, and his wife’s, the most entrancing (and deadly painful) personal history. 11 o’clock p.m. I broke off to go and dine at the Fredk. Pollocks as aforesaid: from which I have just come home. There were present your friend J. Croom Robertson and his wife, Sir Fredk. Pollock, and Mrs. P’s mother. The purpose of the occasion seemed to have been to talk about you, which was done with great amplitude and enthusiasm. The P’s were most expressive: related all your doings and sayings, sang the 245
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praises of the Putnams, Annie Dixwell etc., and evidently had much enjoyed both the Adirondacks and Boston, and wished to be sympathized with, which I did with such grace as you may suppose. She is certainly a very nice creature, and he less of a stick than his first stiffnesses seem to threaten. C. Robertson said he had just sent a paper of yours to the printer and asked what I supposed you meant by the “nub” of a thing. I told him I didn’t know. I am very glad you can save money by Munroe’s death, and hope it won’t cost you more than the money in correspondence and bothers. Do, as far as I am concerned, whatever is easiest to yourself.—You ask about Paul Bourget, and what you say about him is much to the point. He is extremely intelligent but full of mistakes and even of putrescence. I saw a good deal of him this past summer— he spent 10 weeks in England and brought me a letter from Sargent. I put him up at the Athenaeum, which he revelled in, and he came down and spent a couple of days with me at Dover. He adores England (is unique among Frenchmen in his extravagant taste for it) and has been here, for short visits, two or three times before. He once spent some weeks at Oxford, knows Pater, etc.. On the other hand, he speaks the language à peine, understands it but ditto when spoken, and I don’t think even understands the country and people really very well. His liking for them is a kind of ultimate Parisian raffinement. Personally he is very amiable and an admirable little talker, especially upon the state of France, which he depicts as the very worst in most respects. He is just publishing a short novel, which he is going to dedicate to me, alas I don’t like it (the novel, from what I know of it,) He is very “subtle” and just, as a critic, especially in talk; but he has published a small quantity of fiction, elegant in form, which, as I say, is quasi-putrid. He will come back here and I shall see more of him. Poor Carl Hillebrand is dead, as you will see by the enclosed notice. I enclose as well, for its remarks on Mme. H., a letter I have 246
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received from Violet Paget, that astounding young female who writes aesthetic books on Italy under the name of Vernon Lee. Mrs. Pollock showed me a photog. of your three children: I wish you would send me one. I send tender affection to Alice, and hope your winter, your lectures, your domestic and philosophic affairs. I have read your paper from the Unitarian Magazine, but must read it again before I “make it my own”. Give my love to Bob, and ask him what I can do for him. I enfold you all, and will write news of Alice as soon as she has been apprehended by me. Ever your Henry. Vernon Lee, I shld explain, is also dedicating a novel to me! “Miss Brown”. No previous publication
244.9 Frdk. Pollock’s,—Mrs. P. • Sir Frederick and Lady Georgina
Pollock.
244.11 “wonderfully good to them” • WJ hosted Sir Frederick and
Lady Georgina Pollock for a week in the Keene Valley in northern New York State (see HJ to WJ, 5 October [1884], pp. 236–37; CWJ 5: 570–71).
244.13 W. Holmes • Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
244.15–16 two novels • The Bostonians and The Princess Casamassima.
244.18 Alice’s arrival • AJ arrived at Liverpool on 11 November.
244.25 K. L. • Katharine Peabody Loring.
244.29 he had left Wisconsin • See HJ to WJ, 5 October [1884],
p. 238n237.19–20.
245.11 Father’s book • The Literary Remains of the Late Henry James.
245.12 the fragment in the Atlantic • “Stephen Dewhurst’s
Autobiography.”
245.30–31 J. Croom Robertson and his wife • Probably George Croom
Robertson (1842–92), philosopher, psychologist, editor of Mind, and longtime correspondent of WJ. Robertson’s wife was Caroline Anna Cromp-
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245.31 Mrs. P’s mother • Letitia Hill Deffell (c. 1818–97), the mother of
Lady Georgina Harriet Deffell Pollock.
246.1 Putnams • James Jackson Putnam and Charles Pickering
Putnam were co-owners with WJ of property in the Keene Valley, New York, which they called Putnam Camp and Putnam Shanty (CWJ 5: 16n10).
246.1 Annie Dixwell • Anna Parker Dixwell (1847–85), American artist
and friend of the Jameses.
246.9 Munroe’s death • Allen Munroe (1819–84), banker and ex-mayor
of Syracuse who served as the Jameses’ property agent in Syracuse, New York, died on 6 October.
246.22 à peine • hardly.
246.24 raffinement • sophistication.
246.27–28 a short novel, which he is going to dedicate to me • Cruelle
énigme.
247.6 your paper from the Unitarian Magazine • “The Dilemma of
Determinism.”
henrietta reubell 1 November [1884] ALS Houghton 25
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3 Bolton St. W. Nov. 1st ———— Dear Miss Reubell When I wrote to you a month ago I said that I would soon write again, I am afraid you have wondered by this time what has become of my promise. I have delayed a little intentionally, thinking that in this case my letter would perhaps find you in a mood that much would enable you to send 248
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me a little news in reply. I am almost entirely without news of you—my Paris correspondents being now so very few. The last account of you I had was from Mrs. Boit, who told me of your little journey, rather ineffectual, I fear, to Dresden, of your probable intention of remaining at your dear old 42. This last fact gave me extreme satisfaction, for if you were to leave the Avenue Gabriel I think I should feel the wrench almost as much as you yourself. I have a multitude of charming associations with your dear little “lambris dorés,” of your mother’s friendly hospitality always humorous welcome, of delightful breakfasts, dinners, evenings, talks, there. I can’t think of you in any other place on Sunday afternoons—you must remain there for the sake of that happy institution. You will set it up again one of these days, it will again be genial beneficent. I shall not go into the little room beside the big, again, on such occasions, to have my little talk with your mother—the charming, friendly little room, where the bibelots are (I think,) thickest, the fragrance of all the cigarettes that have been smoked out in discussion of the pleasant things of Paris, seems always to linger: I shall not do that any more, but Mrs. Reubell will seem to me scarcely to have gone, everything will be remind me of her, her kind spirit will haunt your bright little quatrième keep watch over its sociable traditions. Don’t think I speak of all this trop à mon aide don’t know how lonely melancholy your days must seem present themselves to you now. I do, very positively, am sure you have need of all your patience courage to dive into the change, as it were. But you have a spirit for everything, bright or sad, I I have little doubt that life leads you on, or will do so, comfortably, day by day.—For myself, you know I never have much news, not being of an adventurous or impassioned character. One of my last adventures was to spend a Sunday with Mrs. Boit at Tunbridge Wells, together with Sargent, who, however, poor boy, had to take to his bed in the midst of it, being seedy incapacitated. You hear often from 249
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Mrs. Isa, of course; so I needn’t tell you how her quiet, thrifty, pedestrian English life becomes her. She was brilliantly friendly, as usual, the only thing I regret is that she shouldn’t be more in sympathy with these brave islanders. She doesn’t seem to me to like them any better than Laugel! Sargent, on the contrary, gets on with them beautifully, has developed a talent (by me quite unsuspected) for spending weeks months in in the chateaux of the (as I conjecture) most beef--beery, which fills me with envy awe. I have seen him again since then, quite on his pins again; the other evening we dined together at the Healtheries. He is a most pleasant gifted youth seeing him is always delightful to me. He is unfortunately always in the country painting the portraits of the Vickerses. I have no idea what he has made of them, but pray they may contribute to his glory. I have lately been out of town a little, to day go down to Oxford for the Sunday: after that I am settled to in London for the winter. I grieve to say I have no immediate designs upon Paris. But it is always there, for me, I am liable to dash over. Pray speak of me kindly to any one who shld. care to hear me, especially those dear good sacrificed sacrificing Craftses. I send you my affectionate good wishes, I pray you may be well not “dreary” beyond what is strictly inevitable, , remain, dear Miss Reubell, very faithfully yours H. James No previous publication
249.28 I I have • [ I h overwrites I]
249.30 adventurous • adventur- | ous
249.31 One • [O overwrites illegible letter]
250.2 pedestrian • pedes= | trian
250.14 contribute • contrib= | ute
250.22 , • [, overwrites .]
249.5 dear old 42 • Reubell’s residence was 42, avenue Gabriel, Paris.
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249.9 lambris dorés • gilded paneling.
249.9 your mother’s • Julia Coster Reubell, daughter of John G.
Coster, a wealthy New York City merchant. She married Frederick Reubell, a French citizen, in 1839. Mrs. Reubell died on 23 September 1884.
249.22 quatrième • quarter.
249.23–24 trop à mon aide • so much for my own benefit
249.32 Mrs. Boit [. . .] Tunbridge Wells • Mary Louisa Boit; Tun-
bridge Wells, Kent, England.
250.1 Mrs. Isa • Isa was Mary Louisa Boit’s nickname.
250.5 Laugel • Auguste Laugel.
250.10 pins • Legs (slang). Cf. “on his feet again.”
250.11 Healtheries • Common name for the International Health Exhi-
bition in South Kensington, where there was entertainment, shopping, at least one vegetarian dining room / restaurant, and a Japanese restaurant. The exhibition opened on 8 May and closed on 30 October. More than four million admissions were recorded.
250.13 painting the portraits of the Vickerses • Sargent worked on or
completed several paintings for two branches of the Vickers family, one in Petworth and one in Sheffield, in 1884: Garden Study of the Vickers Children, Dinner Table at Night (The Glass of Claret), Mrs. Albert Vickers (Edith Foster), The Misses Vickers, Edward Vickers, and Mrs. Thomas E. Vickers. In all, Sargent completed some dozen paintings of the Vickerses throughout his career.
250.16 Oxford • See HJ to Grace Norton, 3 November [1884] for HJ’s
account of his visit to Oxford (pp. 253–54).
250.20 Craftses • James Mason Crafts and Clémence Haggerty Crafts.
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3 Bolton St. W. Nov. 3d ———— My dear Grace. I have more letters to thank you for than I (or even you) can count—following each other with a liberality of which each outporing caused my cheek to mantle with the blush of shame, (at my own silence;) “answer” them all I can’t; but I can at least in some sort answer you; I shall do so before another hour of dumbness has added to my facial crimson. Your letters contain everything— above all they contain yourself. I wish they did in very fact, that the postman could hand you in, in the flesh, bag baggage. I would pay, without a murmur, the heaviest postage for the parcel. Let me say, just in general, yes yes to everything, then, in particular, no., no, to some of your items. Let me above all, both thank you reassure you as regards you to what you wrote me about Alice’s coming out. It was an act of true friendship I understand perfectly the emotion that prompted it: but my dear Grace, it was only at the same time a proof of your rare faculty of taking the world tragically. I have a large dose of the same talent, yet (I am almost proud to announce it,) I have quite escaped, as yet, being alarmed by Alice’s now impending advent. I may be wrong, it may wreck blight my existence; but it will have to exert itself tremendously to do so. She is not coming in any special sense, at all, “to me”; she is simply coming to Europe, apparently will not even alight at my door when she arrives to spend the first week or two (which will perhaps be all) of her present stay in London with me. There is no question of her living with me. 252
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She is unspeakably un-dependent independent, she clings no more than a bowsprit, has her own plans, purposes, preferences, practices, pursuits, more than any one I know, has also amply sufficient means c, , in short, even putting her possible failure to improve in health at the worst, will be very unlikely to tinge or modify my existence in any uncomfortable way. My belief is that at the end of six months, she will mend physically in European conditions, after that will be no preoccupation to me at all. I go to Liverpool to meet her next week, am hiring a maid to take to her—so I needn’t even wait to bring her to town if she wishes to stop rest. All this, dear anxious—too=anxious friend—for your comfort— mine. I came back this a.m. from a Sunday at Oxford, spent at Merton with the renowned peculiar George Brodrick (“Curius Dentatus”) whom you doubtless remember, who is now Warden of that college, where he exercises a lavish liberal hospitality. There were in the house, John Bright, Lady Sarah Spencer, the Charles Roundells c, at lunch dinner various lights of the Oxford world. world. Humanly, it was heavy, tainted with that Oxford priggery which is not one of the things I enjoy most; but the place is always divinely delicious to me, the college is one quite the oldest one of the most romantic: window embrasures six feet thick; rooms of the 13th century, dear old garden c. John Bright is to me one of the least interesting types in England, is moreover today quite a spent volcano, fallen into the prattling, rather boring, mildly senile stage. I sat up with him, last night, an hour after the others had gone to bed, he described to me beautiful American poems that are sent to him from the U. S., a splendid novel by general Lew Wallace—of which he related the plot at extraordinary length. His “culture” is so narrow, his taste so bad, what remains of his intellect so weak, that I wondered greatly that a “great statesman” shld. have coexisted with such limitations. It made me think that great statesmen may sometimes be very 253
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measurable creatures. However, J. B. was never, never pretended to be, that: he was simply a great orator, with a special gift of speaking, which, having died out, has left him childlike bland, rather bare. I have read with much enjoyment your various little articles—enjoyment of them extrem in themselves also of the fact that you do them. I can’t sufficiently recommend you to launch yourself in literature, for which you have an excellent faculty. Make this now your occupation diversion, you will have a very honourable profitable career. I welcome any allusions you may make to me, all you may quote or not quote, from me; I thank you particularly for your long letter about my article in Longman. I think we are at bottom abundantly agreed about the art of fiction, when you think you differ from me it is (I believe) simply that you don’t understand me! And yet I can’t explain myself here; I am too pressed with many duties. But I mean (as soon as I can find a moment free from other writing) to publish another article on the subject—for that the one thing in Longman was only about half even of the essence of what I have to say. Meanwhile I am also writing a novel (to appear in the Century early in the coming year,) which I think will practically answer in some degree, perhaps, some of your objections, or at least illustrate some of my own artistic convictions. I congratulate you on your present intimacy with Balzac, I have a great affection, a kind of reverence for him, as for the founder father, of our modern effort, on the whole the greatest genius in his line. He is an immense comfort to me, I even like (or rather love, for I don’t like,) him personally. I wish you hadn’t said in the Nation that his people are “puppets”. The failures yes, but the others live, it seems to me, with all the life an artist can impart. The winter, socially speaking, has fairly begun here; parliament is launched upon an autumn session one begins to be asked out to dinner. The days continue splendid; it has been a year, more than a year, of 254
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positively unexampled brilliancy, though still they continue. Poor old London doesn’t know itself, has never been so exposed to the garish light of day, feels its natural modesty coquetry almost violated. I have not moved; but contrary to Charles’s report of me is after his return (which strikes me as almost cruelly meagre,) I do mean to—generally—as soon as I can find time. Meanwhile it doesn’t press, I am comfortable enough, I have the very best situation in London; so I wait till exactly the right place offers itself; for when I move again it will be forever. Thank you kindly, dear Grace, for setting me up in matrimony with the British female. I shall never take that liberty with her, shall to a dead certainty never for change my free unbound condition. I can’t see why you should wish me to: it seems to me you pass there from the tragic view of life to the comic! At any rate, I shall never marry; I regard that now as an established fact, on the whole a very respectable one. I am both happy enough miserable enough, as it is, don’t wish to add to either side of the account. Singleness consorts much better with my whole view of existence (of my own of that of the human race) my habits, occupations, prospects, tastes, means, situation “in Europe”, absence of desire to have children—fond as I am of the infant race. I give you here the results, simply, of much meditation, but can’t narrate the process. But I may say that since definitely positively (from a merely negative state) making up my mind not to marry, I feel that I have advanced in happiness power to do something in the world. There are all sorts of things to be said about it; mainly this, that if marriage is perfectly successful it is the highest human state; that if it fails of this it is little better than an awful grind, an ignoble, unworthy condition. I have never regarded it as a necessity, but only as the last highest luxury. I don’t think all the world has a right to it, any more than I think all the world has a right to vote.—The greatest pleasure I have lately had has been the perusal of the 2 last vols. of Froude’s Carlyle. They are of the 255
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deepest interest entertainmt. Decidedly Carlyle was a brute, a man of a jealous, grudging, sinister, contemptuous, ungenerous, most invidious soul; one who, with all his violence of feeling felt life, as a whole, most incomplitely (calls Keats a “dead dog”, “vessel of hell” c, sneers at “art” in a way which should shows that all that salutary world was closed to him.) But what a genius, painter, humourist; what a literary figure, what a faculty of expression. These things put him in the front rank, though not in the highest place in it, I think; for I am convinced that he will be a curiosity for future people rather than an a teacher. He his wife, at all events, were a most original entrancing pair, their Chelesea-history is as fascinating as a fairy-t ale. Nine - ̸tenths -tenths of Carlyle’s contempt—the brutal mockery he poured over all human things—seem to me perfectly barren verbose, his crude, stiff remedies (shootings, prisons c) not to meet the difficulties of the world human cases at all—in which you will probably agree with me.—I must close, my dear Grace—to go see the Bootts, who have telegraphed me an hour to meet them here on their stoppage of but 12 betwixt Boston Paris. Their apparition surprises me altogether; it being the 1st I have heard of their coming. I shall try let fewer months elapse before I write again; if I can’t send you 14 18 pages I will send you 4. I see you in your winter=parlour, could almost get up to shut the door! I pray you are well that things keep tolerably straight around you. Don’t let literature make you too impersonal—at least when you write to your very faithful friend Henry James Previous publication: HJL 3: 51–55
252.12 outporing • [misspelled]
252.12 , • [, overwrites .]
252.16 yourself • you your= | self; [r overwrites first =]
256
1884 252.19–20 yes yes • [e overwrites es]
252.23 understand • under- | stand
252.25 faculty • facul- | ty
252.30 tremendously • tre= | mendously
253.8 preoccupation • preoccupa- | tion
253.10 needn’t • need= | n’t
253.15 remember • re- | member
253.25 • [blotted out]
253.25 today • to- | day
253.32 wondered • won- | dered
253.33 limitations • lim= | itations
254.5 enjoyment • en- | joyment
254.32 parliament • parlia- | ment
255.2 doesn’t • does- | n’t
255.5 is after • [a overwrites is]
255.28 successful • success- | ful
255.30 necessity • ne= | cessity
256.1 entertainmt • [misspelled]
256.4 incomplitely • [misspelled]
256.6 .) • [) overwrites . ; first . inserted]
256.23 14 18 • [8 overwrites 4]
252.25–26 your rare faculty of taking the world tragically • HJ seems
to address Grace Norton’s recurrent or prolonged depression.
252.28 Alice’s now impending advent • 11 November 1884 at
Liverpool.
253.13 Merton • Merton College, Oxford.
253.14 George Brodrick • George Charles Brodrick (1831–1903), son of
William John Brodrick (1789–1870), 7th Viscount of Middleton. HJ first met Brodrick in 1869 (see CLHJ, 1855–1872 1: 248, 250n248.16–17).
253.17 John Bright • Liberal politician (1811–89).
253.17 Lady Sarah Spencer • Possibly Lady Sarah Isabella Spencer
(1838–1919), an “active Liberal” (Spencer 286), daughter of Whig politician and naval commander Frederick Spencer (1798–1857), sister of Liberal
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253.17–18 the Charles Roundells • Charles Savile Roundell (1827–
1906), Liberal politician and MP, and Julia Anne Elizabeth Tollmache Roundell (c. 1846–1931; m. 1873).
253.29–30 a splendid novel by general Lew Wallace • Ben-Hur: A Tale
of the Christ (1880) was Wallace’s most recent and popular novel.
254.5 your various [. . .] articles • Grace Norton seems to have been
especially productive as a writer in 1884. See “The Correspondence of George Sand,” “‘Darwinism Stated by Darwin Himself,’” “Disinterested Curiosity,” “Ménangiana,” and “The Riverside Shakspere.” Grace Norton also wrote “Memory” in November 1884 and published it in January 1885.
254.12–13 my article in Longman • “The Art of Fiction.”
254.20 a novel • The Bostonians.
254.24–25 your present intimacy with Balzac • Grace Norton discussed
Balzac rather extensively in “Disinterested Curiosity” and referred to him in “Ménangiana” and “Memory.”
254.26 the founder father, of our modern effort • HJ elaborated on
this in “Honore de Balzac” (1875), “The Letters of Honoré de Balzac,” “Honoré de Balzac” (1902), “The Lesson of Balzac” (1905), and his review of Émilie Faguet’s Balzac, for example (see also Brooks; Fay; Gervais).
254.30–31 “puppets” [. . .] life an artist can impart • HJ wrote of Balzac
and his characters: He is so vast and various that you find all kinds of contradictory things in him; he has that sign of the few supreme geniuses that, if you look long enough, he offers you a specimen of every possible mode of feeling. He has represented virtue, innocence, and purity in the most vivid forms. César Birotteau, Eugénie Grandet, Mlle. Cormon, Mme. Graslin, Mme. Claes, Mme. De Mortsauf, Popinot, Genestas, the Cousin Pons, Schumcke, Chesnel, Joseph Bridau, Mme. Hulot—these and many others are not only admirably good people, but they are admirably successful figures. They live and move, they produce an illusion, for all their goodness, quite as much as their baser companions—Mme. Vauquer, Mme. Marneffe, Vautrin, Philippe Bridau, Mme. de Rochefide. Balzac had evidently
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256.4–5 calls Keats a “dead dog”, “vessel of hell” c, sneers at “art” •
HJ recalls this passage excerpted by Froude from Carlyle’s journal: Milnes has written this year a book on Keats. This remark to make on it: “An attempt to make us eat dead dog by exquisite currying and cooking.” Won’t eat it. A truly unwise little book. The kind of man that Keats was gets even more horrible to me. Force of hunger for pleasure of every kind, and want of all other force—that is a combination! Such a structure of soul, it would once have been very evident, was a chosen “Vessel of Hell;” and truly, for ever there is justice in that feeling. At present we try to love and pity, and even worship, such a soul, and find the task rather easy, in our own souls there being enough of similarity. Away with it! There is perhaps no clearer evidence of our universal immorality and cowardly untruth than even in such sympathies. (1: 450–51) Froude notes Carlyle’s disdain of art: “He walked far and fast among the hills, with an understanding of their charm as keen as an artist’s, though art he affected to disdain” (1: 58–59).
256.11 his wife • Jane Welsh Carlyle (1801–66; m. 1826).
256.18–19 the Bootts • Elizabeth Boott and her father, Francis.
lady louisa erskine wolseley 6 November [1884]
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Dear Lady Wolseley.
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It is most damnable but I am engaged! I expect to be on Thursday at Liverpool, where I go on Tuesday or Wednesday to meet my sister arriving from America. She 259
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will have been ill on the voyage, much knocked up, will be obliged to stop over a couple of days in Liverpool before advancing on London: so that I shall have to stay with her, am too uncertain of my return to town to venture to form an engagement so sacred as the one you Lady Hayter very kindly propose. I am full of grief disappointment, of fear that you will be quite sick of me all my domestic prosaic empêchements. Nevertheless will you very kindly express my thanks—very cordial—to Lady Hayter for the hospitality she offers the honour she does me?—as well as my deep regret. It is the sort of thing I should have liked so much! With you I shall try to repair my loss— even with Lady H. May I thank you now for the little wiping-book? It is the providence of my pens, though I fear you will hardly find they are in a state of grace. I shall have to wipe this one very fiercely after writing what has cost me such regret. Very gratefully faithfully yours H. James Nov. 6th ————
The Lady Wolseley 6 Hill St. W. 25
[Partially legible postmark:] [L]ONDON • W[.] XX NO 7 [8]4 W 14 Previous publication: Alan James 29
260.6 disappointment • disappoint- | ment
260.13–18 pens, though [. . .] Nov. 6th ———— • [written across the let-
ter’s first page]
260
1884
259.33 meet my sister • AJ and Katharine Peabody Loring arrived in
Liverpool, on board the Pavonia, on November 11.
260.8 empêchements • obstacles.
benjamin holt ticknor 9 November 1884 ALS Yale University Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
10
YCAL MSS 830
3 Bolton St. W. Nov. 9th 1884 ———— Dear Mr. Ticknor. I have your note of Oct. 27th. I will send you as soon as possible revised copy for “t The Author of Beltraffio” (which is the name I wish the new volume of tales to bear.) The two tales published in the Sun, of which I saw no proof, have many errors. You ask about the copyright of the Bostonians—forgetting apparently that the book is your property. If you take out the American copyright, Macmillan for with whom (or I suppose) you will have arranged to issue it here) will attend to the English. In the Century it is will be copyrighted here (I take it) in virtue of appearing in the English issue of the magazine. Each number of the Century must be copyright here. Yours ever Henry James
261
15
20
25
30
The Complete Letters of Henry James No previous publication
261.18 t The • [T overwrites t]
261.22 copyright • copy- | right
261.20 two tales published in the Sun • “Pandora” and “Georgina’s
Reasons.”
262
Biographical Register
This register is intended to help readers of The Complete Letters of Henry James keep track of the many people James mentioned in his letters more than once or who received a letter from him. It lists family members and friends and public, literary, and artistic figures of James’s era whom the editors consider now to be relatively obscure. Well-known people whom James mentioned—for instance, Hawthorne, Thackeray, and Tennyson—are omitted, as are canonical authors of James’s past, such as Shakespeare and Molière. Well- known contemporary authors and artists, such as William Dean Howells and Émile Zola, do appear in this register when the editors have deemed that they were significant to James’s life or work. Excluded from this register are the names of people James mentions whom we have been unable to identify. Abbey, Edwin Austen (1852–1911), was an American painter and illustrator. Aïdé, Charles Hamilton (1826–1906), novelist, poet, and socialite whose London gatherings HJ often attended. Aldrich, Mary Elizabeth “Lilian” Woodman (c. 1841– 1927), married Thomas Bailey Aldrich on 28 November 1865. Aldrich, Thomas Bailey (1836–1907), New Hampshire–born and Boston- based novelist, poet, editor, and frequent Atlantic Monthly contributor. As editor of the Atlantic Monthly from 1881 to 1890, Aldrich published some of HJ’s work. Anderson, Mary (1859–1940), American actress; she and HJ later became friends. HJ’s character of Mariam Rooth from The Tragic Muse might have been based indirectly on Anderson (Gale 33; Complete Notebooks 28; HJ to Mary Augusta Arnold Ward, 9 December [1884]). 263
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Balfour, Arthur (1848–1930), Conservative British politician who became prime minister in 1902. Barrett, Lawrence (1838–91), popular American Shakespearean actor who performed in London. HJ turned down Barrett’s proposal to write a stage version of The Portrait of a Lady. Battersea, Lady Constance de Rothschild Flower (1843– 1931), wife of Cyril Flower, Lord Battersea, and daughter of Sir Anthony de Rothschild. Boit, Mary Louisa (1846–98), wife of American expatriate painter Edward Darley Boit (1840–1915); they moved to Europe in 1871. HJ had known the Boits since at least 1876. Boott, Elizabeth “Lizzie” (1846–88), American painter and a friend of the Jameses. Boott married Frank Duveneck, one of her art teachers and an important painter in his own right, in March 1886. HJ supported her career as an artist and often visited her father and her, especially at their home on Bellosguardo, outside Florence, Italy. She is thought to have been a model for Pansy Osmond in The Portrait of a Lady. Boott, Francis “Frank” (1813–1904), amateur composer and musician, friend of the Jameses, father of Lizzie Boott. Bourget, Paul (1852–1935), French novelist, poet, and critic. He and HJ became close friends. Bronson, Katharine de Kay (1834–1901), with her husband, Arthur Bronson (1824–85), was an 1850s Newport acquaintance of the Jameses. The Bronsons had one child, Edith (b. 1861), who became Countess Rucellai after marrying Cosimo Rucellai in 1895. Bronson became a close friend of Robert Browning and of HJ. Both authors visited her at her Venice palazzino, Casa Alvisi; its guest accommodations in the neighboring Palazzo Giustiniani-Recanati; and her house, Casa La Mura, in nearby Asolo. HJ commemorated his friendship with Mrs. Bronson in his memorial article, “Casa Alvisi” (originally published as the preface to Bronson’s “Browning in Venice”). 264
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Bryce, James, Viscount Bryce (1838–1922), British legal historian who later served as chief secretary for Ireland (1905–6) and was made 1st Viscount in 1913. He led an active social life in HJ’s London literary circle and was a founding member of London’s Century Club. His 1864 publication The Holy Roman Empire was a popular work and significant contribution to contemporary British historical studies. Burne-Jones, Sir Edward Coley (1833–98), 1st Baronet, English artist. HJ wrote that Burne-Jones’s “imagination, his fertility of invention, his exquisiteness of work, his remarkable gifts as a colourist—all these things constitute a brilliant distinction” (The Painter’s Eye 147). Child, Theodore E. (1846–92), English writer and journalist who resided in Paris. He edited the Parisian, an “Anglo-American periodical” to which HJ contributed ( James, Preface xix). Childe, Blanche de Triqueti (1837–86), daughter of sculptor Henry de Triqueti (1804–74) and his wife, Emilie (or Julia—sources give both names) Forster (1810–73), and widow of François Delessert (1817–68). She married Edward Lee Childe in 1868. She received HJ at Varennes, her château south of Paris, in 1876 and 1879. Childe, Edward Lee (1836–1911), son of Edward Vernon Childe, a Parisian-based expatriate and journalist originally from Boston, and Mildred Lee, sister of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Childe’s first wife was Blanche de Triqueti Childe. He remarried in 1888 to Marie de Sartiges (1855–1944), daughter of Eugène de Sartiges (1809–92), a French diplomat, and Anna Dodge Thorndike (1827–1915) of B oston. Clarke, Mary Temple Rose (d. 1913), daughter of Lady Charlotte Temple (1833–83) and John Rose (1820–88) and wife of Stanley Clarke (d. 1911). She was a distant relative of the Jameses. Cook, Sir Charles Archer (1849–1934), was an English barrister and legal writer. Cranch, Caroline “Carrie” Amelia (1853–1931), daughter of James family friends Christopher Pearse Cranch (1813–92) and Elizabeth De Windt Cranch (1819–98). Carrie Cranch suffered from 265
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mental illness most of her life and had a particular fixation on HJ in the early 1880s. Crowninshield, Frederic (1845–1918), painter, writer, and teacher. He taught at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston from 1879 to 1885. Dana, Charles Anderson (1819–97), American newspaper editor and owner and editor of the New York Sun from 1868 to 1897. Daudet, Alphonse (1840–97), French poet, short-story writer, and novelist. HJ reviewed a number of Daudet’s works; the first review, “Three French Books,” was published in 1875. Daudet married writer Julia Allard (1844–1940) in 1867. They had three children, Léon (1867–1942), Lucien (1878–1946), and Rosalie Ann Marie Edmée (1886–1937). Daudet suffered from painful complications of venereal disease, which finally took his life. Du Maurier, George (1834–96), novelist and illustrator for Punch. He illustrated the British serial and US book editions of Washington Square. Emmet, Christopher Temple (1822–84), husband of HJ’s cousin Ellen “Elly” Temple Emmet. Emmet, Ellen “Elly” Temple (1850–1920), HJ’s cousin and wife of Christopher Temple Emmet. Fawcett, Edgar (1847–1904), American novelist and poet heavily influenced by HJ. Fawcett’s “Henry James’s Novels” was “one of the first major general essays on HJ” (Horne 160). Flower, Constance de Rothschild. See Battersea, Lady Constance de Rothschild Flower. Gardner, Isabella Stewart, “Mrs. Jack” (1840–1924), New York City–born art collector, patron, and museum founder and the wife of Boston banker John Gardner (1837–98). She began collecting contemporary art, books, and manuscripts (partly under the guidance of Charles Eliot Norton) in the early 1870s and old masters in the late 1880s. She created the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 266
Biographical Register
Boston (opened in 1903) to house and display permanently her collection. Gilder, Helena de Kay (1846–1916), painter, translator, sister of Katharine de Kay Bronson, and wife of editor Richard Watson Gilder. She had been a close friend of HJ’s cousin Minny Temple. Gilder, Richard Watson (1844–1909), American poet and biographer, assistant editor and then editor of Scribner’s Monthly (1870–81, 1881), and also editor of the Century Magazine (1881–1909). His wife was Helena de Kay Gilder (1846–1916), sister of Katharine de Kay Bronson. Godkin, Edwin Lawrence (1831–1902), founded the Nation in 1865 and published many of HJ’s earliest reviews and articles. In 1881 the Nation merged with the New York Evening Post, which Godkin edited from 1883 to 1900. Godkin, Katharine Sands (1846–1907), second wife of Edwin Lawrence Godkin (m. 1884). Godkin, Lawrence (1860–1929), New York attorney and son of Edwin Lawrence Godkin. Goncourt, Edmond de (1822–96), French naturalist novelist, critic, publisher, academic, and founder (through his will) of the Académie Goncourt. HJ met him in 1875 at Gustave Flaubert’s residence. Gosse, Edmund (1849–1928), staff member of the library at the British Museum, author, and lecturer. HJ and he first met at an 1879 luncheon with Andrew Lang and Robert Louis Stevenson. HJ and Gosse later developed a close friendship and exchanged nearly four hundred letters, at least, over the course of their lives. Gosse was knighted in 1925. Gregory, William Henry (1816–92), Liberal politician and husband of Irish writer Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (1852–1932). Hamley, Sir Edward Bruce (1824–93), served as a general under Lord Wolseley in the Anglo-Egyptian War; he was later a Conservative MP. HJ had known Hamley since 1879. 267
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Hay, John Milton (1838–1905), Indiana-born author and statesman who had a number of literary friends, including Henry Adams, Samuel Clemens, Constance Fenimore Woolson, and William Dean Howells. In 1875 Hay helped HJ secure the position of Paris literary correspondent for the New York Tribune, for which Hay was at times an editorial writer. He also served as US assistant secretary of state (1879–81), ambassador to England (1897–98), and secretary of state (1898–1901, 1901–5). Henschel, George (1850–1934), German-born vocalist, conductor, and composer. Hill, Jane Dalzell Finlay (d. 1904), wrote literary reviews for the Northern Whig and London’s Saturday Review; she was married to Frank Harrison Hill. Hoppin, William Jones (1813–95), served as first secretary of the American Legation in London from 1876 to 1886. A lawyer by training, Hoppin also published articles on art. Howells, Elinor Gertrude Mead (1837–1910), daughter of Larkin Goldsmith Mead (1795–1869) and Mary Jane Noyes Mead (1806–76), niece of the Oneida community founder, John Humphrey Noyes (1811–86), and wife of HJ’s friend William Dean Howells (m. 1862). They had three children: Winifred “Winny” (1863–89), Mildred (1872–1966), and John “Booa” Mead Howells (1868–1959). Howells, William Dean (1837–1920), American author, editor, critic, and pioneer of American literary realism. HJ’s first meeting with Howells probably occurred in the summer of 1866. Despite their different upbringings, the two became lifelong friends. As assistant editor (1866–71) and then editor (1871–81) of the Atlantic Monthly, Howells published and promoted HJ’s early work, including serialization of Roderick Hudson, The American, The Europeans, and The Portrait of a Lady. Huish, Marcus Bourne (1843–1921), English writer and art critic. He was editor of Art Journal from 1881 to 1892. James, Alice (AJ) (1848–92), fifth and youngest child and only daughter of Sr. and MWJ. She is remembered for her eloquent and 268
Biographical Register
candid journal, written during the last three years of her life and preserved and posthumously printed by her close friend Katharine Peabody Loring. James, Alice Howe Gibbens (AHGJ) (1849–1922), wife of Wil liam James. They wed in 1878 and had five children: Henry “Harry” (1879–1947), William “Bill” (1882–1961), Herman (1884–85), Margaret “Peggy” Mary (Mrs. Bruce Porter) (1887–1950), and Alexander “Aleck” Robertson, born Francis Tweedy and also called John Robertson (1890–1946). James, Caroline “Carrie” Cary (1851–1931), wife of GW J and daughter of Milwaukee businessman Joseph Cary (c. 1807–80). She and GW J had two children: Joseph Cary James (1874–1925) and Alice James Edgar (1875–1923). James, Garth Wilkinson “Wilky” (GWJ) (1845–83), the third child of Sr. and MW J. He was badly wounded in the Civil War, during which he served with the Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, led by Col. Robert Gould Shaw. After the war, RJ and GWJ tried to manage a plantation in Florida, after which he moved to Milwaukee and took on a series of jobs. In 1873 he married Caroline “Carrie” Cary (1851–1931), who was the daughter of Milwaukee businessman Joseph Cary (c. 1807–80). GW J and his wife had two children: Joseph Cary James (1874–1925) and Alice James Edgar (1875–1923). James, Henry, Sr. (Sr.) (1811–82), was born in Albany, New York, graduated from Union College in Schenectady, New York, dabbled in business, and less than half-heartedly read law. He then studied at Princeton Theological Seminary (1835–37). Although raised in a strict Presbyterian family, he was repelled by orthodox Protestantism and gave up adherence to institutional religion. He is remembered as an author and theological philosopher and was heavily influenced by Swedenborgianism and (to a lesser extent) Fourierism. His books include Christianity the Logic of Creation (1857), The Secret of Swedenborg (1869), and Society the Redeemed Form of Man (1879). He and MWJ married in 1840 and had five children. 269
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James, Henry “Harry,” I I I (1879–1947), first son of W J and AHGJ. He was a lawyer, executor of HJ’s will, heir of Lamb House, compiler of WJ’s Memories and Studies, editor of The Letters of William James, biographer of Richard Olney and of Charles W. Eliot, chairman of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA), trustee of the Carnegie Corporation, and vice president and trustee of the Rockefeller Institute. He married Olivia M. Cutting (1892– 1949) in 1917, was divorced in 1930, and married Dorothea Draper Blagden (1881–1960) in 1938. James, Herman (1884–85), third son of W J and AHGJ. James, Mary Lucinda Holton (1849–1922), wife of RJ and daughter of Milwaukee businessman Edward Holton. James, Mary Robertson Walsh (MW J) (1810–82), married Sr. in 1840. She is most often described as having been a stable and comforting wife and mother, and HJ was devoted to her. James, Robertson “Bob” (RJ) (1846–1910), the fourth and youngest son of Sr. and MWJ. He enlisted at sixteen and served during the Civil War with the Fifty-Fifth Massachusetts Infantry Regiment. He worked with GW J on his plantation in Florida before holding a series of railroad jobs in the Midwest. In 1872 he married Mary Lucinda Holton (1847–1922), and they had two children: Edward “Ned” Holton James (1873–1954) and Mary Walsh James (Vaux) (1875–1956). RJ struggled with alcoholism for much of his life. James, William (W J) (1842–1910), HJ’s older brother and pioneering psychologist and pragmatist philosopher best remembered for The Principles of Psychology (1890), The Will to Believe (1897), The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902), and Pragmatism (1907). He began teaching at Harvard in 1872, three years after he had received his M.D. there, and retired in 1907. In 1878 he married Alice Howe Gibbens, and they had five children. James, William “Bill” (1882–1961), second child of W J and AHGJ and reputable American painter. Kemble, Frances “Fanny” Anne (1809–93), noted actress from the Kemble family of famous British actors. She married Pierce But270
Biographical Register
ler in 1834 and divorced him in 1848. HJ met Kemble and her daughter, Sarah Butler Wister, in Rome in 1872 and became close friends with both of them. King, Clarence Rivers (1842–1901), world-renowned mining geologist, was the first director of the US Geological Survey. King later led a double life using the identity of James Todd, represented himself as a black Pullman porter, and became the common-law husband of Ada Copeland, whom he met in 1887. La Farge, John (1835–1910), American artist who studied under William Morris Hunt in Newport, where he met the Jameses in 1858. La Farge encouraged HJ to pursue writing and literature and mentored WJ in Hunt’s studio. In 1860 La Farge married Thomas Sergeant Perry’s older sister, Margaret (1840–1925). He also provided the masthead illustration used for eleven of twelve serial installments of “The Turn of the Screw.” Laugel, Auguste (1830–1914), French writer, journalist, and Nation contributor who married Elizabeth Bates Chapman Laugel. HJ published an unsigned review of Laugel’s La France politique et sociale. Lawrence, Louisa Elizabeth (1838–1920), socialite, daughter of the surgeon Sir William Lawrence (1783–1867) and Louisa Senior Lawrence (c. 1803–55), sister of Mary Wilhelmina Lawrence (1839– 1920) and horticulturalist Sir James John Trevor Lawrence (1831– 1913), and friend of Sir Garnet and Lady Louisa Wolseley. Lazarus, Emma (1849–87), was an American poet whose most famous work, the 1883 sonnet “The New Colossus,” is inscribed on a plaque on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. Lewis, Elizabeth Eberstadt (1845–1931), daughter of Ferdinand Eberstadt of Mannheim, Germany, and second wife of prominent lawyer Sir George Henry Lewis (1833–1911). She kept a well- known salon in London. Lombard, Fanny, a daughter of the James family’s Cambridge friend Mrs. Lombard.
271
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Lombard, Mrs., a Cambridge family friend whom the Jameses also knew when vacationing in Maine in the summer of 1871. HJ encountered Mrs. Lombard and her daughters, Essie and Fanny, in Europe in 1872–74. Loring, Katharine Peabody (1849–1943), became AJ’s primary companion and caretaker. The two American women met in 1873 through the Society to Encourage Studies at Home in Boston, which Loring helped to organize and where they both taught history (Strouse 191). Loring was responsible for the posthumous publication of AJ’s diary (see Strouse 319). Loring, Louisa Putnam (1854–1924), sister of Katharine Peabody Loring. She was known for her philanthropic work in hospitals. She suffered from tuberculosis and chronic ill-health. Lowell, James Russell (1819–91), American poet, critic, Harvard professor, diplomat, and politician. He became American minister to Spain in 1877. He edited the Atlantic Monthly (1857–61) and the North American Review (1864). He and HJ became close friends—especially after 1880, when Lowell became American minister to Great Britain. Mackay, Fanny Georgina Jane Hasler Mitchell (c. 1831– 1917), wife of Donald James Mackay, 11th Lord Reay and 1st Baron Reay (1829–1921). Macmillan, Frederick Orridge (1851–1936), son of Macmillan and Company cofounder Daniel Macmillan (1813–57). Frederick Macmillan became a partner in Macmillan and Company in 1876. HJ and he met in 1877, the start of a long-standing publishing relationship and friendship. Macmillan married Georgiana Elizabeth Warrin (1846–1943), an American, in 1874. Mathews, Florence Wilkinson (1842–1923), daughter of James family friends Emma Wilkinson and Dr. James John Garth Wilkinson (1812–99). She married politician Benjamin St. John Attwood- Mathews (c. 1831–1903) in 1860. Mildmay, Lt. Col. Herbert Alexander St. John (1836– 1922), British army officer. 272
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Morison, J. Cotter (1832–88), author of Life and Times of St. Bernard (1863), Gibbon (1878), and Macaulay (1882) and staff member of the Saturday Review. Motley, Susan Margaret Stackpole (1848–1918), daughter of John Motley (1814–77), married Lt. Col. Herbert Alexander St. John Mildmay in April 1884. Myers, Eveleen Tennant (1856–1937), daughter of MP Charles Tennant (1796–1873) and London salon hostess Gertrude Barbara Rich Collier Tennant (c. 1821–1918). On 15 March 1880 she married Frederic William Henry Myers (1843–1901), poet, essayist, psychiatric researcher, and cofounder in 1882 of the Society for Psychical Research. Neftel, William B. (1830–1906), AJ’s New York City physician. He specialized in treating nervous conditions. Norton, Charles Eliot (1827–1908), son of Andrews Norton (1786–1853) and Catharine Eliot (1793–1879), influential author, translator of Dante, editor of the North American Review (1864–68), one of the founders of the Nation, scholar of art history and Italian studies, and professor of the history of fine art at Harvard (1873–98); he also taught Dante’s poetry. He lived in Cambridge at Shady Hill, near the Jameses, and was an early mentor of HJ’s career, publishing some of his first review articles and introducing him in 1869 to prominent cultural figures in London. Norton married Susan Ridley Sedgwick in 1862; they had six children. Norton, Eliot (1863–1932), oldest child of Charles Eliot and Susan Sedgwick Norton. Eliot Norton entered Harvard University in 1882. He accompanied his father to Europe in the summer of 1883 and stayed in HJ’s rooms at 3 Bolton Street while there. Norton, Elizabeth “Lily” Gaskell (b. 1866), second daughter of Charles Eliot and Susan Sedgwick Norton. Norton, Grace (1834–1926), Charles Eliot Norton’s youngest sister. She lived much of her life with her brother, helping to raise his children. In the early twentieth century she published several studies 273
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of Montaigne, including Studies in Montaigne (1904), The Spirit of Montaigne (1908), and The Influence of Montaigne (1908). HJ and she maintained a lengthy and intimate correspondence from 1868 to the end of his life. Norton, Richard “Dick” (1872–1918), the sixth and last child of Charles Eliot and Susan Sedgwick Norton. Norton, Sally (1864–1922), the oldest daughter of Charles Eliot and Susan Norton. Osgood, James Ripley (1836–92), publisher of HJ’s first books. He was the partner of James T. Fields in Fields, Osgood and Company, then directed James R. Osgood and Company until 1878, when he became the partner of H. O. Houghton in Houghton, Osgood and Company. From 1880 until declaring bankruptcy in 1885, he again operated as James R. Osgood and Company. The 1885 bankruptcy caused HJ to lose much of the income due to him from The Bos tonians. Ouroussoff, Marie, Russian princess married to Serge Ouroussoff; she hosted a Parisian literary salon. Paget, Violet (1856–1935), British writer who published under the pseudonym Vernon Lee. She dedicated her novel Miss Brown to HJ. Parkman, Francis (1823–93), American historian and writer whose works include The California and Oregon Trail (1849) and Vassall Morton (1856). Parsons, Alfred (1847–1920), was an English painter, illustrator, and garden designer. Payn, James (1830–98), novelist and editor whose 1866 Mirk Abbey was dedicated to Dickens. Perry, Thomas Sergeant (1845–1928), writer, scholar, educator, translator, and close friend of HJ for more than fifty years, until HJ’s death. They first met at school in Newport in 1858.
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Perugini, Kate Dickens (1839–1929), daughter of Charles Dickens; she married Carlo Perugini (her second husband; 1839– 1918) in 1874. She was an accomplished painter. Phipps, Jessie Percy Butler Duncan (1855–1934), American education activist and wife (m. 1876) of William Wilton Phipps (1847–1911). She moved to England in 1880. She was related to John Singer Sargent through her mother, Jane Sargent Duncan (1833– 1905). Primrose, Archibald Philip (1847–1929), 5th Earl of Rosebery, prime minister (1894–95), and author. Rosebery married Hannah de Rothschild (1851–90) in 1878. Rosebery was a Liberal politician and close associate of Gladstone. He became prime minister after Gladstone’s retirement. HJ visited the Roseberys at the Rothschild house at Mentmore, near Aylesbury. HJ also visited Rosebery’s “bachelor house,” the Durdans, near Epsom, which Rosebery purchased in 1872. Primrose, Hannah de Rothschild (1851–90), Lady Rosebery, daughter of Baron and Baroness Mayer Amschel de Rothschild and wife of Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery. She married Rosebery in 1878. Procter, Anne Benson Skepper (1799–1888), wife of the poet Bryan Waller Procter, who published under the pen name Barry Cornwall. Ralli, Pandeli (1845–1928), Greek socialite born in France. He became a nationalized British citizen in 1866. Ralli was a Liberal MP from 1875 to 1885. He had an estate in Alderbrook, Surrey. Reay, Lady. See Mackay, Fanny Georgina Jane Hasler Mitchell. Reid, Thomas Wemyss (1842–1905), newspaper writer and editor who worked since 1867 for the Leeds Mercury. Reid became editor in 1870 and opened a London office in 1873. Reubell, Henrietta (c. 1849–1924), Franco-American resident of Paris and close friend of HJ. 275
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Rosebery, Lady. See Primrose, Hannah de Rothschild. Rosebery, Lord. See Primrose, Archibald Philip. Salvini, Tommaso (1829–1915), a famous Italian actor who was known in the English-speaking world for his Shakespearean roles. HJ described him as “essentially a large, rich, abundant genius” (“Tommaso Salvini” 378). Sands, Mary Morton Hartpence (1853–96), American s ocialite. Santley, Elizabeth Mary Rose- I nnes (1854–1938), second wife of English baritone vocalist George Santley (1834–1922; m. 1884). Sargent, John Singer (1856–1925), American painter whom HJ championed. Sellar, Eleanor Mary (1829–1918), wife of Latin professor Wil liam Young Sellar. She was also a close friend of Robert Louis Stevenson and Herbert Spencer. She published Recollections and Impressions in 1907. Simon, Jane O’Meara (c. 1817–1901), wife of John Simon. She was a family friend of Charles Eliot and Susan Norton. Simon, John (1816–1904), London physician and political reformer. He was a family friend of Charles Eliot and Susan Norton. Smalley, George Washburn (1833–1916), American journalist, London-based correspondent for the New York Tribune, and husband of Phoebe Garnaut Smalley (c. 1837–1923). Stickney, Albert (1843–1908), politician and lawyer. He was John La Farge’s attorney and owned many La Farge paintings. Strong, Eleanor Burrit Fearing (1831–1903), married to Charles E. Strong and sister of Kate Sedley Fearing Carter. A resident of Paris, she was estranged from her husband following a domestic scandal. HJ met her in 1869 and found her to be an engaging and enlivening social companion. 276
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Symonds, John Addington (1840–93), British poet, historian, and critic important for his pioneering work in male homosexual identity and on the Renaissance. HJ cites Symonds’s disagreements with his wife as the source for his 1884 story, “The Author of ‘Beltraffio.’” Ticknor, Benjamin Holt (1842–1914), Boston editor and publisher who was a partner in James R. Osgood and Company. Tweedy, Mary Temple (d. 1891), the paternal aunt of HJ’s cousins, the Temples. She was the sister of Robert Emmet Temple (1808–54), who married Sr.’s sister, Catharine James (1820–54), in 1839; after the deaths in 1854 of Robert and Catharine Temple, Mary Tweedy and her husband, Edmund (c. 1812–1901), took in the orphaned Temple children, Robert “Bob,” William, Katharine “Kitty,” Mary “Minny,” Ellen “Elly,” and Henrietta. Walsh, Alexander Robertson (Uncle R.) (1809–84), MW J’s oldest brother and Sr.’s occasional business agent. He lived in New York City. Walsh, Catharine (Aunt Kate, AK) (1812–89), sister of HJ’s mother, she remained a constant and usually present member of the James family until her death. She lived and traveled with the James family and became almost a second mother to the James children. Catharine Walsh is usually described as having been much more outgoing and opinionated than her quieter sister. In 1853 she married Capt. Charles H. Marshall, but the union lasted for only twenty- eight months. She died after a fall in her home in March 1889. Walsh, Elizabeth “Bessie” Robertson (1840–90), HJ’s first cousin and daughter of Alexander Robertson Walsh. Walsh, Louisa Corrin (1849–1917), HJ’s first cousin and daughter of Alexander Robertson Walsh. Walsh, Olivia Brown (1839–1911), HJ’s first cousin and oldest daughter of Alexander Robertson Walsh. Ward, Mary Augusta Arnold (1851–1920), British novelist and philanthropist. She wrote under the name Mrs. Humphry Ward. 277
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Wolseley, Garnet Joseph (1833–1913), 1st Viscount Wolseley, was the Irish-born son of a British army officer. He had a storied military career, including leading outnumbered British soldiers in the Battle of Tel-el-Kebir during the Egypt War of 1882, among other colonial exploits. He became known as “the Modern Major General” and was at least partly portrayed by George Grossmith in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance (see also Ainger 182). He and HJ became close acquaintances. Wolseley, Lady Louisa Erskine (1843–1920), wife of celebrated British military figure Sir Garnet Wolseley (1833–1913). Woolson, Constance Fenimore (1840–94), American author and great-niece of James Fenimore Cooper. In November 1879 she moved abroad, where she spent the remainder of her life, primarily in Italy, but with visits to Britain, France, Switzerland, Austria, Greece, Egypt, and Jerusalem. In 1887 HJ and she rented neighboring apartments in Villa Brichieri, Bellosguardo, outside Florence, Italy. She died after jumping from a window in her apartment in Venice and is buried in the Protestant Cemetery in Rome. Zola, Émile (1840–1902), French novelist and critic. HJ met Zola in December 1875, when Ivan Turgenev introduced HJ to Gustave Flaubert and other members of his literary circle. HJ was present when Flaubert’s circle learned of the suspension in 1876 of the serialization of L’assommoir. During Zola’s exile in England at the time of the Dreyfus affair, HJ helped provide material and moral support.
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We intend The Complete Letters of Henry James to be as useful to as broad a range of readers as possible, given the limitations of print reproduction. Because one cannot anticipate what biographical or historical details or stylistic idiosyncrasies contained in any given letter may be of value to users of the edition, the general editors believe that our duty is “to be as complete as possible,” as James wrote in another context (“Art of Fiction” 521). By being as complete as possible, we enable the opportunity for study of almost any aspect of James’s letters. Such an inclusive edition of the letters enriches by its range and detail our understanding of James’s life and the lives of his correspondents, his use of language, his importance to our cultural legacy, and thus the value of the original letters themselves. The goal of this edition is to provide an inclusive, reliable, available, and easily read scholarly and critical text for all extant letters, telegrams, and notes written by Henry James. We aim to establish the letter text, thus evidence of the compositional process represented by it, with the greatest precision possible in a format that is easy to understand. It may be important to some readers, for example, that HJ added an element of emphasis to the phrase “full of information” when he careted “interesting” before “information” into his 2 October [1884] letter to Louisa Putnam Loring (p. 234). Understanding James’s change from “full of information” to “full of interesting information” at this point in the letter gives a small insight into the moment of composition, to James’s wavering at that moment on the degree of his emphasis. Likewise, James’s nuanced adjustment of “see” to “descry” in his letter of 16 September [1884] to Henrietta Reubell (p. 212) offers a window into James’s compositional methods and strategies. Such readability in combination with representational precision helps us to produce a reliable edition. Where reliability (in terms of the meaningful details of the historical document itself ) is in tension with readability, we give pri279
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ority to reliability. Informing this view is a conviction that historical documents are fundamentally different from “literary texts” such as poems and novels and therefore must be edited and published differently. We do not correct slips or other errors in the letters, preferring instead to render what James wrote whenever possible. As much as we hope that this edition can function to communicate to readers a substantial amount of the meaning of James’s originals, no edition of letters can represent all details of the original documents. That having been said, our aim is to help our readers experience something of the moment of composition, which only a careful examination of the manuscript can offer fully. Our position on this aspect of the editorial rationale is based on G. Thomas Tanselle’s critique of modernization and his argument that editors of historical documents should preserve in a scholarly edition a writer’s deletions and, by extension, other meaningful features of the holograph, for then “the editor allows the reader to have the same experience” as the original reader of the historical document (“Editing” 50–51).
Interpreting the Manuscript The manuscripts of James’s letters show that James was a spontaneous letter writer who wrote rapidly, for they contain a substantial number of changes and corrections that constitute each letter’s “drafts” through its “revisions.” The position and apparent sequence of James’s cancellations, corrections, and insertions indicate that he adjusted, shaped, and sharpened his meaning as he wrote, working just ahead of his pen, when he noticed an error or clarified his meaning at all. Those changes, made as he drove himself to answer letter after letter received and to open new paths of communication, reveal James’s mind in action. They also record the way in which James responded to individual correspondents and particular rhetorical situations. As we considered the changes—both what James rejected and what he accepted—as well as the representation of those changes, it became evident that those adjustments were themselves interesting because James obviously made the particular change for a reason. And such changes could hold an interest all their own, just as they would for those who read the original letters. In the same way shifts 280
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and turns of meaning are signaled by changes, so too do mistakes and errors of carelessness and other idiosyncrasies carry meaning. To omit those details would be to misrepresent the letter James wrote and his correspondent read. Thus we sought an approach to editing the letters that would enable us to represent what James wrote, what appears on the letter page and what the letter recipient read, so that readers of this edition might use the edited letters more nearly as they would James’s own originals. The most suitable approach we found is plain-text editing, developed by Robert H. Hirst for Mark Twain’s Letters and adapted for this edition. The plain-text approach to editing and representing the letter does not attempt to render a typographical facsimile of the letter text. It enables us to represent meaningful details of the text of the historical document. At the same time, by using commonly understood editorial symbols in combination with a record of emendations and other textual notes, we provide the reader with a highly reliable and readable edition. By including in the edited text cancellations, insertions, and other changes present in the manuscripts and typescripts and by representing these manuscript details with similar ones in the typography, plain-text editing enables users to read the edited letters nearly as they would the originals without having to reconstruct changes entirely by way of an apparatus or specially memorized editing marks or by having to decipher James’s handwriting. By representing textual details of the letters rather than the letter writer’s final decisions only, plain-text editing enables readers to see when and where in a letter James changed his mind or altered an emphasis. We base our decision to present the letters in a plain-text style, in part, in terms of Tanselle’s point that “the posting of a letter is equivalent to the publication of a literary work, for each activity serves as the means by which a particular kind of communication is directed to its audience” (“Editorial Problem” 204). Henry James indicated his preference for a “definitive” letter as soon as he sealed an envelope and sent it through the mail. We see no reason, then, to alter the meaningful elements of what James wrote and a letter’s recipient read. In “Recent Editorial Discussion and the Central Questions of Editing,” Tanselle elaborated the concept by arguing that “[r]eaders are not normally prevented from understanding a text by 281
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oddities and inconsistencies of punctuation and spelling, and when these irregularities are characteristic of the author what is the point of altering them? It is hard to see why editors think they are accomplishing anything by straightening out the details of spelling and punctuation in a letter or journal simply for the sake of tidying it up” (58).
Representing the Manuscript The Complete Letters of Henry James introduces the text of each of James’s letters with a header and follows each letter with textual commentary and informational annotation. The header to each letter provides the full name of the correspondent on the first line, the full date on the second line, and the form of the source text (ALS, TLC, etc.), the name of its repository, and, if applicable, the catalog number of the source text on the successive line or lines. Square brackets in the first line indicate a woman recipient’s married name if she wasn’t married at the time of the letter’s writing and is better known to history or in James’s biography by her married name (thus, Lilla Cabot [Perry] but not Elizabeth Boott [Duveneck]). Square brackets in the second line indicate our insertion of dates not written on the letter itself. Square brackets in the header’s repository description are a part of the archival information. James regularly left letters partially or wholly undated in terms of day, month, or year. When James omitted the day and/or the month dates from his letters, we date them conjecturally through an examination of the letter and envelope, when one is available. We explain in a note the reason for our dating. When James omitted the year date, we determine it through an examination of the letter and, when available, the envelope. When that evidence differs from a year date arrived at by earlier scholars and/or archivists, we explain in a note the reason for our dating. Our aim in dating letters is to arrive at the best date or range of dates possible given the evidence provided in the letter (and occasionally the stationery) itself. Of course, all such dating is to one degree or another conjectural. The articulation of multiple dates over which a letter was written deserves a few words of explanation. We give the dates of a let282
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ter written over the course of more than one day when each day is indicated in the letter itself either by an actual date written or when the letter gives evidence that there were starts and stops in composition, with a comma separating the dates on which the letter was written (e.g., 2, 5 October [1884]). When the letter gives a temporal cue separating the writing of sections of the letter (“yesterday,” “last night,” “two days ago”) but the date of the writing is not written in the letter, the implied dates are given in square brackets ([9], 11 January [1881]). When it is clear from evidence in the letter that James began writing late one day and finished without a marked break on the next, the dates are separated by an en dash ([31 December 1878]– [1 January] 1879). We use the sign in the letter’s header to indicate the presence of an envelope with a given letter. That sign recurs prior to previous publication information to signal a description of the address and postal cancellation stamp(s). If James wrote on letterhead stationery, we indicate the content of the letterhead on the next line of the letter’s header in CAPITAL LETTERS. Our approach to annotation in general is to provide information that will help our readers understand not only some of what we judge James’s reader might have known but also, when it will help provide a useful context, what we know about people, places, and subjects to which James referred. While no set of notes can be exhaustive or will satisfy every reader, if we err, we prefer to err on the side of providing too much information rather than too little. Overall, we hope that our notes provide a way for readers to develop for themselves insights into James’s letters, life, and time. Biographical information from combinations of sources for birth and death records such as the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Ancestry.com, national census and marriage data, and other standard reference works is not cited in the notes or in the biographical register. All other sources of information are given. We translate foreign phrases that we judge might not be familiar to many of our readers. We offer these translations in the informational notes. The texts of the letters that comprise this edition are reproduced 283
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essentially as they were written and sent, without correction or normalization, including cancellations, as long as that text can be intelligibly transcribed with typographical features available to the editors via the page designers. If what might be a significant feature of the manuscript can be represented in the edition, it has been. Infrequently in some letters, either the recipient, a family member who gathered and reviewed the letters, or an editor added a comment. None of these interventions is represented in the edited letter texts, which aim to give James’s letters as James wrote and sent them. Our preservation of James’s spelling and punctuation not only shows James’s use of American, English, French, Italian, and other spellings and languages and his attention or lack of attention to certain words, but also may suggest that in certain instances James might have misspelled a word deliberately to create a pun or other humorous effect. His use of the Scottish colloquialism “paukiest” (29 September [1878] to MW J, CLHJ, 1876–1878 2: 218), as well as “leetle” for “little” in his 31 August [1881] letter to Thomas Bailey Aldrich (CLHJ, 1880–1883 1: 258), “jalouser-ing” rather than “making others jealous” in his 3 April [1878] letter to Elizabeth Boott (CLHJ, 1876– 1878 2: 82), and “Curnarder” for “Cunarder” (22 March [1874] to WJ, CLHJ, 1872–1876 2: 140) indicate typical puns that depend on a special language of intimacy (“jalouser-ing”) or mimicry of American speech (“leetle,” “Curnarder”). James sometimes used variant spellings that are less common in the early twenty-first century (e.g., “edefice,” “shew,” “despatch,” “fulness,” and “fidgetty”), and we preserve these variant spellings, as we do those in other languages. Variant spellings in English and other languages receive no commentary. James would, on occasion, inadvertently misspell words. Inadvertent misspellings are indicated as such in the corresponding textual commentary so that it is clear to our readers that the slip was James’s. Where James misspells one word into a correct spelling of another word, such as “cease” in “If I were at home I would cease mother round her delicate waist and lift her to ethereal heights in celebration of this fact latest” (14 August [1873] to his parents, CLHJ, 1872– 1876 2: 33), we give no misspelling note, since the problem is a misuse rather than a misspelling. It is also possible that James was here making a pronunciation pun, and to call attention to this instance of 284
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“cease” as a misuse or a misspelling would occur at the cost of preventing our readers from entertaining that possibility. In the same way, when James wrote to his father in his letter of 4 March [1873] (CLHJ, 1872–1876 1: 227) that “The Tweedies and Bootts rut along I rut against them as usual,” we believe that James’s use of the word “rut” should receive no comment. Implying that James may have meant to write a different word or that he inadvertently wrote an “incorrect” word would impose a particular and overly speculative interpretation on James’s text. Occasionally, the manuscript of one of James’s letters has been damaged. Sometimes, when the damage is minimal, missing text can be interpolated with a high degree of certainty. For instance, the envelope to James’s letter of [3 February 1882] to Thomas Sergeant Perry has a portion torn off. But the text that is missing is obvious enough from the context to allow us to supply the missing material within square brackets: “[T.] S. Perry esq.” and “[312] Marlborough St.” (CLHJ, 1880–1883 2: 106). Only when what was lost from the manuscript is as certain as in these examples do we resort to interpolating. But elsewhere an entire portion of a page can be cut or torn off; for instance, in James’s letter of 18 August [1880] to William Dean Howells (CLHJ, 1880–1883 1: 38–39). In such an instance, it is impossible to do more than speculate what the missing portion might have said or even how much is missing, as additional pages could have been lost. In these instances, the textual commentary indicates only the existence of the damage. We mark these places in the letter text with a bracketed ellipsis. We provide no textual commentary on James’s misspellings of proper names unless comprehension is otherwise severely compromised. We do, however, provide the correct spelling of the name in the explanatory notes. James’s use of Italian presents special problems. Standard spelling of nineteenth-century Italian in some cases may be less certain than spelling of English or French words. There is also evidence that James uses dialectic and archaic forms that may not be incorrect in terms of their spelling (e.g., 8 March [1875] to Elizabeth Boott, CLHJ, 1872–1876 2: 211–12) but are used awkwardly or syntactically incorrectly as they would be by many nonnative speakers and writers. Similarly, we do not gloss James’s spelling in 285
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his letter of 4 March [1879] to his brother William of the German “ungemüthlich” (CLHJ, 1878–1880 1: 125). While this today would be an idiosyncratic spelling, it was an accepted variant in 1879. Consistent, then, with our annotation of James’s misspellings in other languages, we annotate a word as a misspelling only when we are certain that James’s spelling deviates from accepted contemporary usage. We indicate inadvertent repetition of a word caused by a line or page break by a note in the textual commentary. We do not gloss inadvertent omissions of words or midline repetitions, and readers should assume these to be James’s. We report cases of end-line hyphenation in the textual notes only when there is a chance that the hyphenation indicates the division of a word. When the end-line hyphenation is without doubt part of a hyphenated term (such as “gooseberry=picking” in 3 September 1884 to Lady Wolseley, p. 204), no hyphenation note is given. Knowledge of usage frequencies, surveyed through electronic searches for particular word combinations across several thousand transcribed letters, helps us to make representational decisions when we are faced with two possibilities. For example, in a 17 November [1878] letter to Charles Eliot Norton, James wrote that the details of London life “rather outrun one’s power [or “powers”?] of notation” (CLHJ, 1878–1880 1: 41). The shape and size of the pen marking at the end of the word make it unclear if it is an s or just a flourish of the r. Either reading, “power of” or “powers of,” fits the context of the phrase. We decided to render “power of” after we conducted a search for both “power of” and “powers of” in our electronic files of all letters through 1879. “Powers of” only appears in two letters, and in those, the final s is absolutely clear; “power of” (clearly without an s) appears three times. Therefore, we felt that it was not atypical of James to use the phrase “power of” and, as a result, that this would be the more likely reading. Since we do not follow James’s line endings, line breaks are recorded in the textual commentary when a break could help to explain an awkwardness in a letter or a contemporary use of a word. For example, in his 7 November [1880] letter to Grace Norton, Henry James wrote “an obligation of justice—” at the end of one line and began the next with “—the risk takes it out of that category” (CLHJ, 286
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1880–1883 1: 85). Yet the meaning of the dashes is not clear. (Should they be rendered as a pair of hyphens or as two long dashes to indicate two words separated by a line break?) In his 27 December 1881 letter to Henry Adams, HJ wrote “bath-” at the end of one line and then “room” at the beginning of the next (CLHJ, 1880–1883 2: 50). After examining contemporary usage of “bath-room” and “ bathroom,” we decided to offer the word with the hyphen, as it was written during the time HJ wrote the letter. In such cases, we preserve the hyphen in the edited letter text to represent common contemporary usage of the word. Thus we preserve the possible importance of the line break in a textual note to give interested readers the opportunity to decide for themselves its significance. James rarely used indentation to mark a subject change in his letters. Instead, he often used a dash. Like many of his generation, James relied on a dash for a range of meanings, including to mark a shift in subject when it follows a period. He also used it within a sentence to mark a parenthetical thought and between sentences to mark a shift in thought but not a subject change. In addition, James did not seem to relate the length of the dash to its meaning. Thus, a dash marking emphasis cannot be distinguished in terms of its length from one marking a transition between subjects. Because James seems not to have related meaning to length, because we couldn’t be sure in every case—or even in most cases—of a dash’s particular function, and because we thought it likely that not all of James’s own correspondents could have understood his idiosyncratic meaning, we represent all such dashes as em dashes and thus represent them without distinguishing their function. Our readers will have to determine for themselves, just as James’s did, whether a dash between sentences indicates a new paragraph, as it were, or not. Here, as elsewhere, we remain consistent with James’s own practice in his letters. We follow James’s indentations in terms of their relation to each other rather than in relation to their exact distance from the left margin of his pages (see Hirst, “Editing”). Thus, we give James’s shortest indentation one standard indentation space. We give his next longest indentation two, next longest after that three, and so on. Where James placed a line or series of lines against the right margin of his paper, so do we. 287
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We represent material inserted interlineally by James (usually signaled in his letters with a caret) with a caret preceding the insertion and a bracketed caret to mark the end of the insertion. When James inserted material interlineally but omitted a caret, we supply in square brackets the initial caret to mark the start of the inserted material. A second bracketed caret marks the end of the interlineal insertion. In this edition, interlineal insertions always appear after the cancellations above which James placed them, even in cases when James placed the caret to the left of the deletion. In so doing, we favor in our transcriptions a temporal rather than a spatial representation of James’s text, showing first what he wrote first and second what he wrote second. Intralineal insertions are noted in the textual commentary. When nearing the end of his letter and also the end of available blank space on his page, James would, in the convention of his time, finish his letter in the margin of a page or across a page. This we note. James’s drawings are reproduced in as close to the original relationship with the text as possible, given the nature of typography and publishing restrictions.
Representing Idiosyncrasies Recurrent stylistic idiosyncrasies are meaningful. One such idiosyncrasy is James’s way of emphasis by underlining once, twice, three times, or more, sometimes with a flourish, occasionally with a circle around or a wavy line beneath a word or phrase. We render those forms of emphasis as James did. Just as we work to represent the meaning inherent or, perhaps, explicit in the range of cancellations, so do we represent as literally as possible the meanings inherent in the range of James’s means of showing emphasis. Reading particular idiosyncratic elements of Henry James’s handwriting is a challenge because many of the letter forms—for example, h and b, a, u, o, and v, as well as T and J—often look alike. To distinguish them, one must first remember the range of ambiguous letter forms and then consider their possible combinations in the context of an entire word or individual words in a phrase or sentence—only then can one begin to read James’s hand accurately. 288
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An example of understanding the context of a particular letter form appears in James’s 22 February [1876] missive to Alice James (CLHJ, 1872–1876 3: 70–74), in which he “beseech[es]” his family to “send me a couple of my card=photos. [. . .] I entreat you.” He continued: “Imagine me on my knees, with streaming hair, [. . .]” The next words could be read as either “flaming eyes” or “flowing eyes” because of the similarity of James’s am to his ow (72). We determined that James must have been referring to lines from “Avis,” a poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes: “Mary clasped her Saviour’s feet / With flowing eyes and streaming hair” (59–60), and so rendered the words in question as “flowing eyes.” An unfamiliar proper name may pose a problem if one lacks an immediate context in which to understand critical letter forms. For example, James’s O can be confused with U and vice versa. In his 2 August [1882] letter to Grace Norton, HJ reported that “I had, literally, my pen in my hand to write to you half an hour ago when young Opdyke [or is it Updyke?] young Welling made their appearance” (CLHJ, 1880–1883 2: 185). After searching for both names in the context of Welling, we were able to determine that “Opdyke” was the correct reading, as Leonard Eckstein Opdycke and Richard Ward Greene Welling were Harvard classmates, fellow actors, students of Grace Norton’s brother Charles Eliot, and travelers to England in 1882 (187). A similar problem occurred in the typed copy of James’s letter of 29 July [1874] to Sarah Butler Wister (the original has been lost) (CLHJ, 1872–1876 2: 194). In that letter the transcriber gave the following: “I cut out of the Galignani the other day, to send you, a paragraph on Miss Lane’s marriage, at Venice, but have stupidly lost it.” Our problem was that we had no knowledge of a “Miss Lane” and could find out nothing about a person who seemed from the context to be so well known by James and Mrs. Wister. We wondered whether the transcriber had mistaken “Lane” for another name, perhaps “Lowe”; James and Mrs. Wister knew Elena Lowe. James’s letter forms for ow could be misread as an. The only way to know for sure, however, would be to read the article that James cut from the Galignani. We located a copy of the 9 July 1874 Galignani’s Messenger, which reports on page 3 the 20 June 1874 marriage in Venice of Elena Lowe, “daughter of the late Francis Lowe, Esq., of 289
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Boston,” and “Gerald Raoul Perry, Esq.,” British consul to the Island of Réunion and son of Sir William Perry, “for many years H.B.M.’s Consul-General at Venice” (“Married”). There are instances of James’s handwriting for which we have not been able to find neat solutions. Special problems include words that may or may not end in a final s, words in the middle of a sentence that may or may not be capitalized, and compound words like “anything,” “somewhere,” and “everyone” that may be one or two words. Understanding James’s habits regarding capitalization in a particular letter, knowing his good knowledge of English grammar, and mapping his letter-spacing habits provide ways to understand other difficulties of James’s hand. One difficulty is the ever more frequent malformation of certain letters—twice, for example, in [2 June] 1884 to Elizabeth Boott (pp. 134–38)—especially m and n, but also, less frequently, h and w, for example. In previous volumes, we read such malformations (an m that lacked a shoulder and appeared as an n or an nn sequence that lacked a shoulder and appeared, say, as ne) as misspellings and slips. But given the frequency of such errors, we now read them as malformed letters. As malformations, we represent them correctly in the edited letter. At the same time, we realize that such correction of the malformed character to a conventional one stands as an emendation. Thus such emendations are marked in the textual notes with a note that indicates the malformation in the original. James often but not always linked the personal pronoun “I” to the following word, especially in the combinations “I had” and “I have.” Having concluded that this link is not meaningful and that representing James’s habit of linking the words would make reading the printed letter awkward, we have silently inserted a space in these instances. For the same reasons, we have also systematically and silently inserted a space in James’s signature between “James” and “jr.” when James, as he often did, linked them. James’s writing of “à propos” or “àpropos” is not always easy to represent. In most instances, James clearly used “à propos” according to what we know now as French custom, with a space between the accented preposition and “propos,” or according to English custom, without an accent on the preposition and without a word space: 290
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“apropos.” In some instances, he gave “àpropos” with an accent and also connected the accented initial letter to the second one. This spelling occurred in both manuscript and published writing during James’s lifetime. In other instances, the accented preposition is not linked to the next letter, but neither did James follow it with a full word space. In these instances, we render the term as “à propos.” James’s use of the apostrophe was irregular and did not always conform to today’s conventions. We cannot always know if James’s errors were the result of carelessness, convention, or a poor understanding of the appropriate uses of apostrophes. Whatever the reasons, we believe that it is important not to correct or standardize his use of the apostrophe. When there is doubt about the placement of an apostrophe, we give James the benefit of the doubt and represent that placement according to his best usage. Where there is no doubt of his placement, we show it as it appears in his hand. James’s habit was not to write out “and.” He most often used instead an abbreviated ampersand like the one used by contemporaries such as Samuel Clemens, Charles Eliot Norton, and William James. Consistent with our presenting James’s abbreviated words and names as he wrote them in his letters, we represent James’s abbreviated ampersand with the symbol .
Cancellation Our approach to representing James’s cancellations is worth some discussion because cancellation is one place where readers can see James revising his letters, adjusting meaning. James frequently canceled material with one or more lines. When these are legible, we represent them as struck-through text (cancel, , cancel, etc.). We represent illegible canceled letters with the mark we use to indicate illegible single letter characters, , struck through: . When a series of canceled characters is illegible to the point that we cannot determine the number of characters, we represent it with a black rectangular box: ▬. James also canceled words and letters within words by overwriting them. This we represent by giving the overwritten word or part of a word as struck-through text followed by the word that results after 291
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the overwriting One [p. 249.31]. James would also blot out letters or words before the ink dried and then sometimes overwrite the dried blot. In the edited letters we indicate blotting as struck-through text. Since the precise nature of James’s change is never entirely obvious from how we have represented overwriting and blotting out, all cases of overwriting and blotting receive an explanation in the textual notes. When a literal representation of a cancellation of a single character in the original letter is easily readable, we prefer that representation. For example, in his 20 February [1884] letter to his brother William, James wrote “keeps” and then changed his mind and canceled the s by blotting it out (p. 26). While it is true that James in essence canceled the entire word, “keeps,” and replaced it with “keep” when he blotted the final s, representing the change as “keeps keep” would not, in our judgment, aid readability and would also be a less accurate representation of the manuscript. Infrequently, other revisions by overwriting are more complicated. These instances include ambiguity regarding what is overwritten and what is overwriting. For instance, near the end of his 24 August [1876] letter to his mother, the manuscript is unclear whether James at first wrote “sectretary” and then corrected the word by writing a new c over ct, thus giving “secretary,” or if he spelled out “sect,” wrote a new c over the ct, and then completed the word. Given this uncertainty, we represent this cancellation and correction as “sect secretary” with a corresponding textual note explaining that “c overwrites ct” (CLHJ, 1872–1876 3: 174).
Treatment of an Autograph Finally, HJ’s 1 June [1884] letter to Thomas Bailey Aldrich, recorded in the Houghton Library’s finding aid (bMS Am 1429 [2579]), is missing from or lost in the library and was not found at the time this volume was published. Sotheby Parke Bernet & Co. recorded HJ’s 27 September [1884] letter to Lady Wolseley (22). This letter, however, has not been located.
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Works Cited
Previously Published Letters and CLHJ Volumes Alan James
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Gunter, Susan E., ed. Dear Munificent Friends: Henry James’s Letters to Four Women. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1999. Harlow Harlow, Virginia. Thomas Sergeant Perry: A Biography and Letters to Perry from William, Henry, and Garth Wilkinson James. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1950. Harrier Harrier, Richard C. “Letters of Henry James.” Colby Library Quarterly 3.10 (1953): 153–64. HJL James, Henry. Henry James: Letters. Ed. Leon Edel. 4 vols. Cambridge, MA: Belknap–Harvard University Press, 1974–84. Horne Horne, Philip, ed. Henry James: A Life in Letters. New York: Viking, 1999. Kessner Kessner, Carole. “The Emma Lazarus–Henry James Connection: Eight Letters.” American Literary History 3 (1991): 46–62. Lubbock Lubbock, Percy, ed. The Letters of Henry James. 2 vols. New York: Scribner’s, 1920. Maher Maher, Jane. Biography of Broken Fortunes: Wilkie and Bob, Brothers of William, Henry, and Alice James. Hamden, CT: Archon, 1986. Monteiro Monteiro, George, ed. Henry James and John Hay: The Record of a Friendship. Providence, RI: Brown University Press, 1965. Moore Moore, Rayburn S., ed. The Correspondence of Henry James and the House of Macmillan, 1877–1914. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1993. Moore, Gosse Moore, Rayburn S., ed. Selected Letters of Henry James to Edmund Gosse, 1882–1915: A Literary Friendship. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1988. Sedgwick Sedgwick, Henry Dwight. Francis Parkman. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1904. SL 1 James, Henry. The Selected Letters of Henry James. Ed. Leon Edel. New York: Farrar, 1955. SL 2 James, Henry. Henry James: Selected Letters. Ed. Leon Edel. Cambridge, MA: Belknap–Harvard University Press, 1987. Sotheby’s Sotheby’s. Catalogue of Modern Literary Manuscripts and Autograph Letters. Day of Sale: Friday, 23rd July, 1976. No. 19 of 1975/76. London: Sotheby Parke Bernet & Co., 1976.
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Works Cited ———. Town Life in the Fifteenth Century. 2 vols. London: Macmillan, 1894. “The Grosvenor Exhibition.” Athenaeum 10 May 1884: 603–5. Gunter, Susan E. Alice in Jamesland: The Story of Alice Howe Gibbens James. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2009. Gurney, Edmund, Frederic W. H. Myers, and Fred Podmore. Phantasms of the Living. London: Trübner and Co., 1886. [Hay, John]. The Bread-Winners: A Social Study. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1884. Hirst, Robert H. “Editing Mark Twain, Hand to Hand, ‘Like All D —— d Fool Printers.’” Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America 88 (1994): 157–88. ———. “Guide to Editorial Practice.” Mark Twain’s Letters. Ed. Victor Fischer and Michael B. Frank. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992. 3: 551–78. The Holy Bible. [Revised Version]. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1885. Howells, William Dean. “Henry James, Jr.” Century Magazine 25 (Nov. 1882): 24–29. ———. The Rise of Silas Lapham. Serialized in Century Magazine 29 (1884): 13–27, 242–67; (1885): 370–84, 581–91, 663–77, 858–73; 30 (1885): 15–28, 241–55, 353–73, 513–26. ———. “A Sea-Change. A Lyricated Farce.” Harper’s Weekly 14 July 1888: 505, 521–24. ———. A Sea-Change or Love’s Stowaway. A Lyricated Farce. Boston: Ticknor and Company, 1888. Huysmans, Joris-Karl. À rebours. Paris: Charpentier, 1884. Hyde, H. Montgomery. The Story of Lamb House. London: National Trust, 1975. James, Alan. “The Master and the Laureate of the Jews: The Brief Friendship of Henry James and Emma Lazarus.” Henry James Review 21 (2000): 27–42. James, Henry. The American. Serialized in Atlantic Monthly 37 (June 1876): 651–73; 38 (July 1876): 15–31; (Aug. 1876): 155–70; (Sept. 1876): 310–29; (Oct. 1876): 461–74; (Nov. 1876): 535–50; (Dec. 1876): 641–57; 39 (Jan. 1877): 1–18; (Feb. 1877): 161–75; (Mar. 1877): 295–311; (Apr. 1877): 412– 25; (May 1877): 530–44. ———. “The Art of Fiction.” Longman’s Magazine 4 (Sept. 1884): 502–21. ———. The Art of Fiction. Boston: Cupples, Upham and Company, 1885. ———. “The Author of ‘Beltraffio.’” Serialized in English Illustrated Magazine 1 ( June 1884): 563–73; (July 1884): 628–69.
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Works Cited Records of the Tercentenary Festival of the University of Edinburgh Celebrated in April 1884. Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, 1885. Reports of Proceedings of the City Council of Boston for the Municipal Year 1885. Second series, vol. 6. Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1886. The Representation of the People Act, 1884. Introduction and notes by W. Cunningham Glen. 2nd ed. London: Shaw & Sons, 1885. “Richter Concerts.” Times [London] 22 Oct. 1884: 1. “The Royal Academy Dinner.” St. James’s Gazette 5 May 1884: 14. Savile Club. The Savile Club, 1868–1923. London: Privately Printed for the Club, 1923. Sellar, Eleanor Mary. Recollections and Impressions. Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, 1907. Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. The Riverside Shakespeare. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin Company. 1183–1234. Sherwood, Mrs. John [Mary Elizabeth Wilson]. Manners and Social Usages. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1884. Sotheby Parke Bernet & Co. Catalogue of Modern Literary Manuscripts and Autograph Letters Comprising the Property of Mrs. E. C. Brough, The Property of C. Ray, Esq., The Property of Mrs. Deirdre Drew, and Other Properties, Friday, 23rd July, 1976. London: Sotheby Parke Bernet & Co., 1976. Spencer, Charles. The Spencer Family. London: Penguin, 2000. Stoddart, Jane T. The Earl of Rosebery, K.G.: An Illustrated Biography. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1900. Strouse, Jean. Alice James: A Biography. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1980. Symonds, John Addington. New Italian Sketches. Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz, 1884. ———. A Problem in Greek Ethics. N.p.: n.p., 1883. ———. The Renaissance in Italy: The Age of Despots. London: Smith, Elder, and Company, 1875. ———. The Renaissance in Italy: The Fine Arts. London: Smith, Elder, and Company, 1877. ———. The Renaissance in Italy: Italian Literature. 2 vols. London: Smith, Elder, and Company, 1881. ———. The Renaissance in Italy: The Revival of Learning. London: Smith, Elder, and Company, 1877. ———. Sketches in Italy. Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz, 1883. Sutherland, John. Mrs. Humphry Ward. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990.
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Works Cited Tanselle, G. Thomas. “The Editing of Historical Documents.” Studies in Bibliography 31 (1978): 1–56. ———. “The Editorial Problem of Final Intention.” Studies in Bibliography 29 (1975): 167–211. ———. “Recent Editorial Discussion and the Central Questions of Editing.” Studies in Bibliography 34 (1981): 23–65. Tucker, Amy. The Illustration of the Master. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2010. Turgenev, Ivan. “The Dog.” Trans. William Ralston Shedden-Ralston. Temple Bar 29 (May 1870): 449–66. ———. “The Idiot.” Trans. William Ralston Shedden-Ralston. Temple Bar 28 (Mar. 1870): 474–88. ———. Liza Trans. William Ralston Shedden-Ralston. London: Chapman and Hall, 1869. ———. Mémoires d’un seigneur russe. Trans. Ernest Charriére. Paris: Hachette, 1883. ———. Poems in Prose. [Trans. Lilla Cabot Perry]. Boston: Cupples, Upham and Company, 1883. ———. Scènes de la vie russe. Trans. Xavier Marmier. Paris: Hachette, 1858. Turner, James. The Liberal Education of Charles Eliot Norton. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999. Vasili, Comte Paul. La société de Berlin: Augmenté de lettres inédites. Paris: Nouvelle Revue, 1884. Virgil. The Aeneid. Trans. Robert Fagles. New York: Viking, 2006. “The Vote of Censure.” Times [London] 21 Feb. 1884: 8. “The Vote of Censure Moved by Sir Stafford.” Times [London] 20 Feb. 1884: 10. Wallace, Lew. Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. New York: Harper & Bros., 1880. Zola, Émile. L’assommoir. Chaps. 1–6. Serialized in Le bien public (de Paris) (Apr. 1876): 13–16, 18–20, 22–23, 25–26, 28–30; (May 1876): 2–4, 6–7, 9–10, 12–14, 16–18, 20–21, 23, 25–28, 30–31; (June 1876): 1, 3–4, 6–7. ———. L’assommoir. Chaps. 7–13. Serialized in La république des lettres 9 ( July 1876–7 Jan. 1877): 26 weekly installments. ———. La joie de vivre. Paris: Charpentier, 1884.
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Index
This index includes the names of every person to whom James addressed a letter (“letters to”), every person mentioned in a letter, every place from which a letter was sent (“letters from”), every place mentioned, every piece of art or architecture mentioned, and every article and book referred to. Page numbers in bold indicate entries in the Biographical Register. Abbey, Edwin Austen, xx, 64n64.8, 263; letters to (1884), 64, 165 Abdy Williams, Ellen Mary, 240, 242n240.16, 243n240.32 Académie Goncourt (Paris), 267 Academy, 98, 99n98.20, 111 Adams, Henry, 233n230.31, 268, 287 Adams, Marian “Clover” Hooper, 230, 233n230.31 Agra (India), 103, 105n103.21 Aïdé, Charles Hamilton, 8, 9n8.6, 16, 21, 263 Albany (NY), 269 Alderbrook Park (Surrey), xxiii, 201n199.25, 214, 215n214.5, 275 Aldrich, Charles Frost, 182, 183n182.30 Aldrich, Mary Elizabeth “Lilian” Woodman, 23, 263 Aldrich, Talbot Bailey, 182, 183n182.30 Aldrich, Thomas Bailey, xix, 16n16.18– 19, 20–21n20.2, 24n21.26, 33n33.1, 67n66.16–17, 67n66.25, 182, 225, 263, 284, 292; letters to (1884), 15–16, 21– 23, 66–67, 90–91; Mercedes, and Later Lyrics, 91, 92n91.5 Alleyne, Sarah Frances, 200, 202n200.23 American Legation (London), 163n163.1, 268 Anderson, Mary Antoinette, 33, 33n33.1, 78, 107, 263 Anesko, Michael, 5n4.2, 31–32n30.12–13, 32n31.4; “Friction with the Market,” 4n3.15, 67–68n66.27–28; Letters, Fictions, Lives 190n189.5–6 Anglo-Egyptian War, 166n165.20, 267 Anstey, F. (pseud. of Thomas Anstey Guthrie), 218
Appian Way, no. 15 (Cambridge MA), 97, 99n97.20, 225 Archaeological Institute of America, 86n84.10 Army & Navy Club (Pall Mall, London), 13, 15n13.33 Arnold, Matthew, xxi, 78, 80n78.28–29, 94, 97, 99n97.13–14, 99n97.23, 200, 214, 216n214.23–24 Arnold, Theodore Percy, 32, 33n32.29 Arnold, William Thomas, 32, 33n32.29 Art Journal, 234n233.18, 268 Art Students League, 181n180.9 Ashfield (MA), 190, 194n190.34 Ashley Cottage (Walton-on-Thames, Surrey), 169n169.2 Aston Clinton (home of Louise Monte fiore de Rothschild), 174, 175–76, 175n174.16, 176n175.31–32 Aston Clinton (town), 175n174.16 Athenæum Club (London), xxi, 118, 246 Atlantic Monthly, xx, xxi, 18, 18n18.25–26, 21n20.11, 24n22.23, 43, 45n42.34–43.1, 66, 67, 67–68n66.27–28, 90, 91n90.32, 115–16n113.3, 132, 171, 172n171.33, 179, 181n179.28–29, 182, 191, 194n191.9, 240, 245, 247n245.12, 263, 268, 272 Attwood-Mathews, Benjamin St. John, 60, 61n60.1, 61n60.21, 272 Auteuil (Paris), xix, 10, 12n10.20, 26 Avenue Gabriel, no. 42 (Paris), 249, 250n249.5 Back Bay (Boston), 182, 183n182.1 Balfour, Arthur, 98, 99n98.25, 264 Ballou, Ellen B., 5n4.2 Baltimore (MD), 207n206.29–30
307
Index Balzac, Honoré de, 254, 258n254.24–25, 258–59n254.30–31 Barings (British investment bank), 11, 48, 235 Barrett, Lawrence, xxi, 92n92.6, 92n92.15, 107, 109n107.19–21, 112–13, 115n113.2, 172n172.3, 264; letters to (1884), 92, 170–72 Barrett, Mary F. “Mollie,” xxi, 92, 92n92.15 Battersea, Lady Constance de Rothschild Flower, 174, 175n174.12, 175n174.16, 176, 176n176.10, 264 Battersea, Lord Cyril Flower, 174, 175n174.12, 175n174.16, 176, 176n176.10, 264 Battle of Tel-el-Kebir (Egypt War of 1882), 147n146.23, 278 Beacon Street, no. 176 (Boston), 99n97.25–26 Beacon Street, no. 302 (Back Bay, Boston), 182, 183n182.1, 227n225.17 Beale, C. E.: The World’s Progress, 220n218.16–17 Bellosguardo (Florence, Italy), 139n134.17, 264, 278 Benson, Arthur Christopher, 115n111.29 Benson, Edward White (Archbishop of Canterbury), 111, 114–15n111.29 Bernhardt, Sarah, xxii, 161, 162n161.19–20 Bickers and Son booksellers (London), 234, 235n234.29 Bijou Theatre (Boston), 190n189.5–6 Blackwood’s Magazine, 218 Blagden, Dorothea Draper, 270 Blaine, James G., 230, 232n229.14, 233n230.32 Blanck, Jacob: Bibliography of American Literature, 96n95.27 Boit, Edward Darley, 46n46.9, 264 Boit, Mary Louisa Cushing, 46, 46n46.9, 212, 249–50, 251n249.32, 251n250.1, 264 Bolton Street, no. 3 (Piccadilly, London), xxi, xxii, xxiii, 10, 34, 41, 47, 69n68.7, 149n149.7, 165n165.2, 166n165.21, 168n167.2, 197, 198, 198n198.21–22, 273; letters from (1884), 3–4, 5–6, 7–8, 47–48, 50–51, 52–53, 54–56, 57–58, 60, 61–62, 63, 64, 65, 66–67, 68–69, 70,
74–75, 76–79, 80–81, 81–84, 86–87, 90–91, 92, 93, 95–96, 97–98, 100, 101, 102, 103–4, 105–7, 109–10, 110–13, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124–27, 128–29, 130–32, 133–34, 134–38, 141, 142, 145–46, 146–47, 148–49, 150, 151–53, 155, 156–57, 158, 160, 161, 163, 165, 165–66, 167, 168–69, 170–72, 173, 174, 175–76, 177, 179–80, 181–83, 184, 185–87, 188–89, 190–94, 196, 217–19, 221–22, 224–26, 227–31, 233, 234–35, 236–37, 239, 240–42, 243–47, 248–50, 252–56, 261 Boott, Elizabeth “Lizzie,” 11, 13n11.16, 139n134.17, 140n137.27, 188, 189– 90n188.29, 189n188.1, 203n203.1, 256, 259n256.18–19, 264, 284, 285, 290; letter to (1884), 134–38; Little Lady Blanche (painting), 139n135.4; Mother and Child (painting), 134, 139n134.30– 31 Boott, Francis “Frank,” 11, 13n11.16, 138, 139n134.17, 189n188.1, 189–90n188.29, 190n189.10, 256, 259n256.18–19, 264, 285; letter to (1884), 188–89 Boston, xxi, xxiv, 7, 10, 16–17n16.21, 29, 32n31.4, 48, 55, 63, 76, 91, 142n141.10, 170n169.23, 189, 192, 193, 206, 207n206.29–30, 235n234.20, 235n234.22–23, 246, 265, 272 Boston Conservatory of Music, 36n34.14 Boughton, George Henry, xxi, 122, 122n122.9 Boughton, Katharine Louisa Cullen, xxi, 122, 122n122.9 boulevard de Montmorency, no. 53 (Auteuil, Paris), 10, 12n10.20 Bourget, Emile: Psychologie Contemporaine, 56 Bourget, Minnie David, 173n173.13 Bourget, Paul, xxii, 173, 173n173.13, 193, 202n200.14, 218–19, 237, 241, 246, 264; Cruelle énigme, 246, 248n246.27–28; Essais de psychologie contemporaine, 56, 57n56.6 Bournemouth (Dorset), 234, 235, 235n234.20, 235n234.22–23, 244 Bowditch, Henry Pickering, 27n25.22–23, 189–90n188.29
308
Index Bowen, Charles Synge Christopher, 35, 37n35.29 Brantwood (Cumbria), 162n161.21, 162n161.27 Bright, John, xxiv, 253–54, 257n253.17 Bristol Hotel (Piccadilly, London), 117, 117n117.10 British Museum, 17–18n17.10, 267 Brodrick, George Charles, xxiv, 253, 257n253.14 Brodrick, William John, 7th Viscount of Middleton, 257n253.14 Bronson, Arthur, 264 Bronson, Edith (Countess Rucellai), 264 Bronson, Katharine de Kay, xxi, 103n102.10, 104, 105n104.26, 181n180.9, 264, 267; “Browning in Venice,” 264; letter to (1884), 102 Broughton Castle (Oxfordshire), 200, 201n200.9 Browning, Robert, 158, 264; “Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister,” 159n158.23 Brown’s Hotel (Mayfair, London), 182, 183n182.27 Bryanston Square, no. 35 (London), xxi, 117, 117n117.11–12 Bryce, James, Viscount Bryce, xxi, 35, 117n117.11–12, 118n118.9, 118n118.10, 265; The American Commonwealth, 37n35.26, 117n117.1; The Holy Roman Empire, 265; letter to (1884), 117 Bryce, Miss, 117n117.11–12, 118, 118n118.10 Burne-Jones, Margaret, 161, 162n161.27 Burne-Jones, Sir Edward Coley, 1st Baronet, xx, 80n78.19, 83, 84, 85n83.23, 111, 126, 136–37, 139n136.24, 140n136.31, 195n192.13, 265; King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid (painting), 111, 114n111.9– 10, 126, 136–37 Burns, Robert: “The Cotter’s Saturday Night,” 207n206.25 Butler, Pierce, 49–50n48.9, 270 Butler Place (Philadelphia), 226 Cambridge (England), 119, 130, 131 Cambridge (MA), 12n10.7–14, 81, 84, 99n97.20, 141–42n141.1, 229, 232n228.30, 238n237.19–20, 271, 273 Cambridge, 2nd Duke of (Prince
George William Frederick Charles), 111, 115n111.30 Carlyle, Jane Welsh, 245, 256, 259n256.11 Carlyle,Thomas, 88, 241, 245, 256, 259n256.4–5 Carnegie Corporation, 270 Carter, Kate Sedley Fearing, 276 Cary, Joseph (GWJ’s father-in-law), 269 Casa Alvisi (Venice), 103n102.10, 264 Casa La Mura (Asolo, Italy), 264 Century Club (London), 265 Century Magazine, xxi, xxii, xxiii, 3, 4–5n3.17, 8, 8n7.11, 8n7.20, 8n7.32, 8n8.3, 10, 12n10.28–29, 22, 38–39, 40n38.25, 42, 55, 68, 69n68.7, 69n68.27, 128, 129, 129n128.25–26, 132, 164, 179, 180–81n179.14–15, 181n179.24–25, 181n179.33–34, 182, 191, 194n191.9, 202, 225, 236, 240, 254, 261, 267 Cephalonia (ship), xxi, 142n141.10 Chamberlain, Joseph, xxii, 168–69, 169n168.34, 230, 232–33n230.8–9 Chaplin, Delene Lucy Morton, 6, 7n6.16 Chaplin, Ernest, 7n6.16 Charles Scribner’s Sons, xx, xxi; letters to (1884), 70, 93 Chenies Manor House (Buckinghamshire), xxii, 161, 162n161.17 Chicago, 97, 99n97.13–14 Child, Elizabeth Ellery Sedgwick, 232n229.9 Child, Francis James, 229, 232n229.9 Child, Theodore E., xix, 20n20.1, 21n20.11, 24–25n23.3–4, 265; letters to (1884), 20, 50–51, 57–58, 68–69 Childe, Blanche de Triqueti, xix, 10, 12n10.21, 42, 265 Childe, Edward Lee, xix, 10, 12n10.21, 42, 265 Childe, Edward Vernon, 265 Childe, Marie de Sartiges, 265 Childe, Mildred Lee, 265 Clark, Sir Andrew, xxi, 88, 89n88.14 Clarke, Mary Temple Rose, 11, 13n11.8–9, 77, 80n77.31, 265 Clarke, Stanley, 13n11.8–9, 265 Clemens, Samuel, 268, 291 Cleveland, Grover, 232n228.24–25, 232n229.1–2, 232n229.14
309
Index Cole, Timothy, 40n39.5 Compton, Edward, 172n171.21–28 Concord (MA), 207n206.29–30 Cook, Sir Charles Archer, 81n80.25, 265; letter to (1884), 80–81 Cooper, James Fenimore, 32n30.22, 140n137.33, 278 Copeland, Ada, 271 Cornhill Magazine, xx, 85n82.23–24, 240 Cornwall, Barry (Bryan Waller Procter), 9n8.5, 275 Coster, John G., 251n249.9 Cottage Street, no. 25 (Brookline MA), 227n225.18 Courchamps, Pierre-Marie-Jean Cousin de, 201–2n200.12–13, 214; Souvenirs de la marquise de Créquy, 216n214.29–30 Covent Garden Theatre (London), xx, 50n48.11–12, 59n58.23, 148n147.29 Crafts, Clémence Haggerty, 26, 28n26.31, 250, 251n250.20 Crafts, James Mason, 26, 28n26.31, 250, 251n250.20 Cranch, Caroline “Carrie” Amelia, 11, 12–13n11.1, 127n125.21–22, 130–31, 265– 66 Cranch, Christopher Pearse, 12–13n11.1, 130, 265 Cranch, Elizabeth De Windt, 12–13n11.1, 265 Crawford, Francis Marion, 218; To Leeward, 29, 31n29.14–15, 55 Créquy, Renée-Caroline Victoire de Froulay, 200, 204, 214; Souvenirs de la marquise de Créquy, 201–2n200.12–13 Crowninshield, Frederic, 125, 127n125.16, 131, 266 Cupples, Upham and Company, xxiv, 226–27n225.13–14 Curtis, Ariana Randolph Wormeley, xxiii, 189, 190n189.10 Curtis, Daniel Sargent, xxiii, 189, 190n189.10 Curtis, Laura Greenough, 190n189.10 Cutting, Olivia M., 270 Daily News, 145n144.14 Dalmeny Park (Edinburgh), 221, 223n221.22–23
Dana, Charles Anderson, 5n4.2, 10, 12n10.24, 26, 27–28n26.10–11, 266 Dante, 141–42n141.1, 273 Dare and Company (Piccadilly, London), 234, 235n234.32 Darmesteter, James, 243n241.26 Darwin, Sara Price Ashburner Sedgwick, 192, 195n192.12 Darwin, William Erasmus, 195n192.12 Daudet, Alphonse, xix, 10, 12n10.19, 20, 20–21n20.2, 21n20.11, 22–23, 24– 25n23.3–4, 25n23.16–19, 26, 29–30, 33n33.1, 43–44, 51, 53, 56, 58, 68, 69n68.17, 266; letter to (1884), 151–53; “Mistral,” 69n68.29; Sapho, 151, 153– 55n151.18–153.6, 155n151.20 Daudet, Julia Allard, 12n10.19, 153, 155n153.4, 266 Daudet, Léon, 12n10.19, 266 Daudet, Lucian, 12n10.19, 266 Daudet, Rosalie Ann Marie Edmée, 12n10.19, 266 Davos (Switzerland), 39, 40n38.1, 40n39.31–33 Deffell, Letitia Hill, xxiv, 245, 248n245.31 Delafield (WI), 127n125.11 Delamore Terrace, no. 29 (London), 158, 159n158.25 Delessert, François, 265 Desprez, Louis: L’évolution naturaliste, 218, 220n218.21 Dickens, Charles, 63, 87n86.29, 115n112.21, 144n144.1, 274, 275 Dixwell, Annie Parker, 246, 248n246.1 Dover (England), xxiii, 199–200, 202, 209, 211, 212, 214, 217, 218, 221, 223– 24n223.15, 228, 229, 232n229.6, 236, 246; letter from (1884), 208 Driver, Samuel Rolles, 89n88.12–13 Dubut de Laforest, Jean-Louis: Le Gaga, 59n58.4; Mademoiselle Tantale, 58, 59n58.4 Duclaux, Émile, 243n241.26 du Maurier, Beatrix Clara Isabel Busson (Millar), 155, 156n155.23, 209, 210, 210n209.26 du Maurier, Emma Wightwick, 156n155.23, 210
310
Index Fields, James Thomas, 274 Fields, Osgood and Company, 274 Le Figaro, 59n57.25 Flaubert, Gustave, 17, 55, 267, 278; Lettres de Gustave Flaubert à George Sand, 57n55.29 Florence (Italy), 139n134.17, 182, 243n241.13–15, 264, 278 Florida plantation, 269, 270 Flower, Constance de Rothschild. See Battersea, Lady Constance de Roths child Flower Flower, Cyril. See Battersea, Lord Cyril Flower Foster, Edith (Mrs. Albert Vickers), 243n241.9–10, 250, 251n250.13 France, 190n189.1, 199, 209, 212, 218, 228, 246, 278 Froude, James Anthony: Thomas Carlyle, 240, 241, 242n240.30, 245, 255–56, 259n256.4–5
du Maurier, George, xx, 65n65.10–11, 78, 80n78.13–14, 137, 156n155.23, 210n209.5–6, 210n209.26, 266; letters to (1884), 65, 155, 208–10 Duncan, Jane Sargent, 164n163.21, 275 Durdans (Epsom, England), xx–xxi, 78, 80n78.26, 98, 275 Duveneck, Frank, 139n134.17, 264 Eberstadt, Ferdinand, 271 Edel, Leon, 25n23.16–19, 96n95.27 Eden-Théâtre (Paris), 69, 70n69.2 Edgar, Alice James (GW J’s daughter), 43, 45n43.17, 269 Egypt, 35, 36–37n35.19–20, 195n193.12–13, 205–6n204.31, 213, 215n213.27–28, 278 Egypt War of 1882, 147n146.23, 278 Eliot, Charles W., 270 Elm Tree Road (St. John’s Wood, London), 203, 203n203.1 Emmanuel College (Cambridge), 192, 195n192.3 Emmet, Christopher Temple, 72, 73n72.1, 73n72.2, 77, 266 Emmet, Ellen “Elly” Temple, 77, 266 Engadine (Switzerland), 202, 203n202.32 English Illustrated Magazine, xxii, 129, 129n129.7–8, 151n150.11–12, 226 Epsom (Surrey), xxi, 80n78.26, 86, 113, 275 Esplanade, no. 15 (Dover, England), 198; letters from (1884), 197, 198, 199–200, 202–3, 204–5, 206, 208–10, 211–12, 213– 15, 216–17 Evening Post. See New York Evening Post
Gaiety Theatre (London), xxii, 162n161.19–20 Galignani’s Messenger, 289–90 Galloway, Alan Plantagenet Stewart (10th Earl of Galloway), 134n133.34 Galloway, Lady Mary Arabella Arthur Gascoyne-Cecil, xxii, 133–34, 134n133.34 Garden Mansions (Queen’s Anne’s Gate, London), 16, 21 Gardner, Isabella Stewart, “Mrs. Jack,” xxi, xxii, 102, 103n102.17, 105n103.21, 105n103.24, 105n103.30, 170n169.23, 193, 195n193.12–13, 266–67; letters to (1884), 103–4, 156–57, 169–70 Gardner, John “Jack” Lowell, 105n103.21, 105n103.30, 170n169.23, 195n193.12–13, 266 George Street, no. 25 (Hanover Square, London), 5, 7n5.25 Giacometti, Paolo: La morte civile (play), xx, 59n58.23 Gibbens, Eliza Putnam Webb (AHGJ’s mother), 131, 132n131.24 Gilbert, W. S.: Comedy and Tragedy, 33n33.1 Gil Blas, 59n57.25
Farrar, Frederic (canon of Westminster), 111, 115n111.29–30 Fawcett, Edgar, 178n177.1, 266; An Ambitious Woman, 177, 178n177.14; “Henry James’s Novels,” 177, 178n177.15–16, 178n177.18–19, 266; letter to (1884), 177; Song and Story, 177, 178n177.12; Tinkling Cymbals, 177, 178n177.14 Fédora (play), xxii, 162n161.19–20 Feinstein, Howard M., 28n27.1 Field, John White, 195n192.25 Field, Mrs. John White, 195n192.25 Field Museum (Boston), 190n189.5–6
311
Index Gilder, Dorothea, 8n7.11 Gilder, Helena de Kay, 8, 8n7.11, 9n8.7, 181n180.5, 181n180.9–10, 267 Gilder, Richard Watson, xix, xxiii, 8n7.11, 9n8.7, 19, 68, 69n68.27, 128, 129n128.25–26, 181n180.5, 181n180.9– 10, 267; letters to (1884), 7–8, 179–80 Gilder, Rodman, 8n7.11, 180, 181n180.9– 10 Gilder Lodge (Marion MA), 8, 9n8.7, 180, 181n180.5 Gillig, Henry F., 3, 4n3.9 Gillig’s American Exchange (London), 4n3.9 Gladstone, Catherine Glynne, xxi, 87, 88, 89n87.33, 89n88.14 Gladstone, Helen, xxi, 87, 88, 89n87.33, 89n88.4, 89n88.14 Gladstone, Mary, xxi, 87, 88, 89n87.33, 89n88.4, 89n88.14 Gladstone, William Ewart, xxi, 87, 89n87.32, 89n87.33, 89n88.12–13, 89n88.14, 89n88.17, 98, 113, 230, 232– 33n230.8–9, 257–58n253.17, 275 Godalming (Surrey, England), 121, 121n121.17, 135 Godkin, Edwin Lawrence, xxii, 37n35.22, 37n35.31, 84, 142n141.10– 11, 149n148.18, 230, 231n227.18, 233n230.28, 267; letters to (1884), 34–35, 148–49 Godkin, Katharine Buckley Sands, xxii, 148–49, 149n148.18, 195–96n193.31– 32, 231n227.18, 267; letter to (1884), 227–31 Godkin, Lawrence, 35, 37n35.22, 267 Goncourt, Edmond de, xix, 10, 12n10.20, 17, 18n17.23, 23, 26, 29–30, 33n33.1, 43, 57–58, 59n58.1, 267 Goncourt, Jules Alfred Huot de, 18n17.23 Goschen, George Joachim, 174, 175n174.21 Goschen, Lucy Dalley, 174, 175n174.21 Gosse, Edmund, xxi, xxii, 17–18n17.10, 30, 40n38.1, 144–45n144.2, 145n144.17, 159n158.6–7, 159n158.17, 159n158.25, 182, 183n182.32, 207n206.18, 207n206.28, 207n206.29– 30, 217n216.22, 239, 240n239.20, 267;
“An Epistle to Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes,” 206, 207n206.12–13; letters to (1884), 17, 120, 142, 145–46, 158, 173, 206, 216–17; From Shakespeare to Pope, 183n182.32, 207n206.18 Gosse, Ellen “Nellie” Epps, 207n206.29– 30 Gower, George Granville Leveson-, xxi, 88, 89n88.17 Gower, Granville George Leveson-(2nd Earl of Granville), xxi, 88, 89n88.17 Grange (West Kensington), 139n136.24, 192, 195n192.13 Gray, John Chipman, 97, 99n97.25–26 Gray, Thomas, 17, 17–18n17.10, 18n17.18 Greece, 278 Green, Alice Stopford, 113; The Making of Ireland and Its Undoing, 116n113.14; Town Life in the Fifteenth Century, 116n113.14 Green, John Richard, 116n113.14 Greenough, Henry, 190n189.10 Green River (WY), 73n72.1 Gregory, Lady Isabella Augusta, 160, 160n160.17, 267 Gregory, Sir William Henry, 160n160.1, 160n160.17, 267; letter to (1884), 160 Grossmith, George, 278 Grosvenor, Hugh Lupus (1st Duke of Westminster), xxi, 113, 116n113.7 Grosvenor Gallery (London), 111, 114n111.13–15, 136, 137, 140n137.16–17, 140n137.18–19, 140n137.19–20 Gurney, Edmund, 126, 131, 132n131.29; Phantasms of the Living, 132–33n131.29 Hagen, Hermann, 27n25.28, 98, 125 Hamilton, Janet Gifford, 166n166.3 Hamilton, Peter Fisher Percival, 166n166.3 Hamley, Sir Edward Bruce, 166n165.20, 166n166.3, 267; letter to (1884), 165– 66 Hampstead (London), 137 Harcourt, Elizabeth Cabot Motley, 112, 115n112.5 Harcourt, Sir William George Granville Venables Vernon, 112, 115n112.5 Harlow, Virginia, 220n217.31
312
Index Hotel Continental (London), xx, 64, 64n64.14 Hotel Dam (New York City), 207n206.29–30 Hôtel de Hollande (Paris), xix, 10; letters from (1884), 9–11, 20, 21–23, 25–27, 32– 33, 34–35, 45–46 Houghton, H. O., 274 Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 67; letters to (1884), 18, 120 Houghton, Osgood and Company, 274 House of Lords, 193–94, 195–96n193.31– 32, 219, 230, 232–33n230.8–9, 232n230.5–6 Howard, George, 136, 140n136.31 Howells, Elinor Gertrude Mead, 30, 31, 182, 268 Howells, John “Booa” Mead, 25n23.25– 26, 268 Howells, Mildred, 268 Howells, William Dean, 23, 25n23.25–26, 27, 31–32n30.12–13, 32n31.4, 39, 43, 54, 106, 179–80, 183n182.1, 183n182.32, 225, 227n225.17, 263, 268, 285; “Henry James, Jr.,” 39, 40n39.3–4, 40n39.5; letters to (1884), 28–31, 181–83; The Rise of Silas Lapham, 55, 56n55.3, 181n179.33–34, 183n182.1; A Sea-Change or Love’s Stowaway (operetta), 189, 190n189.5–6; Yorick’s Love (play), 107, 109n107.19–21, 112–13, 172n172.3 Howells, Winifred “Winny,” 31, 32n31.4, 268 Huish, Marcus Bourne, 234n233.18, 268; letter to (1884), 233 Hunt, William Morris, 271 Huntsville Museum of Art (AL), 139n135.4 Hunyadi János (mineral water), 68, 69n68.16, 69n68.20 Huysmans, Joris-Karl (pseud. of Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans): À rebours, 218, 221n218.23–24
Harper & Brothers, 16 Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, 240 Harper’s Weekly, 190n189.5–6, 240 Harrison, Benjamin, 62n62.6 Hartpence, Martha Morton, 228, 231n228.18–19 Harvard Alumni Bulletin, 86n84.10 Harvard University, 86n84.10, 141n141.1, 195n192.3, 270, 273, 289 Hatchards bookshop (Piccadilly, London), 234, 235n234.27 Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 263 Hay, John Milton, xxi, xxii, 8, 8n8.5, 106, 108n106.29, 117, 117n117.11–12, 118n118.10, 268; The Bread-Winners, 8, 8n8.3, 55, 57n55.25, 108n106.29; letters to (1884), 118, 143 Hayter, Lady Henrietta Hope, 223, 223– 24n223.15, 224n223.21, 260 Hayter, Sir Arthur Divett, 224n223.21 Healtheries (South Kensington), 250, 251n250.11. See also International Health Exhibition Henry F. Gillig & Co. (London), 4n3.9 Henschel, George, xx, 189, 268; A Sea- Change or Love’s Stowaway (operetta), 190n189.5–6 Hill, Frank Harrison, 87n86.20, 268 Hill, Jane Dalzell Finlay, 87n86.20, 268; letter to (1884), 86–87 Hillebrand, Jessie Taylor Laussot, 241, 243n241.13–15 Hillebrand, Karl Arnold, 241, 243n241.13–15, 246 Hirst, Robert H.: Mark Twain’s Letters, 281 Hogarth, Georgina, 112, 115n112.21 Holland, Josiah, 8n7.11 Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 206, 207n206.12–13, 237, 238n236.10–237.1, 238n237.3–4, 244, 247n244.13; “Avis,” 289 Holton, Edward, 270 Homburg (Switzerland), 209, 210n209.20–21 Hopekirk, Helen, 34, 36n34.14 Hoppin, William Jones, xxii, 163n163.1, 268; letter to (1884), 163 Horne, Philip, 178n177.15–16
India, 105n103.21, 105n104.21, 195n193.12– 13 International Health Exhibition (South Kensington), 250, 251n250.11. See also Healtheries
313
Index Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston), 266–67 Italy, 38, 40n38.28–29, 48, 58, 189, 190n189.1, 191, 241, 278 James, Alexander “Aleck” Robertson (WJ’s son), 269 James, Alice (AJ), xix, xxiii, xxiv, 12n9.28, 49n47.13, 71, 80n78.32, 98, 188, 234, 235n234.22–23, 235n234.24, 237, 238n237.4–5, 247, 247n244.18, 252–53, 257n252.28, 259–60, 261n259.33, 268– 69, 272, 289; health, illness, xx, xxi, 27, 28n27.1, 43, 45n43.9, 72, 75, 76, 106, 108n105.31, 237, 253, 260, 272, 273; HJ’s care for, 244, 260; letters to (1884), 9–11, 47–48, 76–79, 105–7 James, Alice Howe Gibbens (AHGJ) (WJ’s wife), xix, xxiii, 53, 53n53.5, 75, 76n74.19, 99n97.20, 99n97.25–26, 127n126.27, 130, 132n131.24, 236, 237, 245, 247, 269, 270; letter to (1884), 124–27 James, Alice James Edgar (GW J’s daughter), 43, 45n43.17, 269 James, Caroline “Carrie” Cary (GW J’s wife), xix, 11, 13n11.13, 13n11.14–15, 26, 43, 45n43.19, 48, 50n48.28, 53, 72, 73n72.13, 127n125.21–22, 131, 132n131.22, 244, 269 James, Catharine (Sr.’s sister), 277 James, Dorothea Draper Blagden (WJ’s daughter-in-law), 270 James, Edward “Ned” Holton (RJ’s son), 238n237.19–20, 270 James, Garth Wilkinson “Wilky” (GWJ), xix, 11, 13n11.13, 43, 50n48.28, 53n52.14, 72, 73n72.13, 133n131.33, 269, 270; illness and death, 13n11.14–15 James, Henry, Jr. (HJ): appreciation of England or London, 14, 35, 50, 52, 61, 62, 69, 82, 111, 161, 212, 222, 228, 254–55; arranging social introductions for others, xxi, 34, 239; copyright, 93, 96n95.27, 150, 151n150.11–12, 225, 226, 261; criticism of artists, 83–84; criticism of England or London, 14, 41, 50, 52, 58, 62, 111–12, 149, 156–57, 219; criticism of US or US culture, 229; execution of Sr.’s last will as its execu-
314
tor, xx, 15n14.2, 52, 53n52.14, 53n52.23– 24; health and illness, 6, 68; painting (criticism; interest in), 26, 72, 83–84, 85n83.23, 107, 109n107.17–18, 111, 114n111.20, 126, 134–37, 139n136.14– 15; plans for theatrical productions, 64n64.8, 170–71, 172n171.21–28, 264; political opinions, 35, 58, 88, 193–94, 219, 229–30, 232–33n230.8–9, 237; publishing payments, plans, contracts, xix, 3–4, 5n4.2, 10, 18, 19, 22, 26, 55, 63, 64n63.29, 66–67, 67n66.16–17, 67–68n66.27–28, 90, 93, 95, 120, 172n171.21–28, 184, 185n184.16–17, 274; redistribution of Sr.’s last will, xx, 52; relationships with artists, xx, xxi, xxii, 8n7.11, 13n11.16, 26, 42, 46n46.9, 64, 64n64.8, 65, 65n65.10–11, 78, 80n78.19, 83, 85n83.23, 86–87, 87n86.29, 111, 112, 115n112.21, 122, 122n122.9, 126, 134–37, 139n134.17, 140n137.27, 142, 144, 144–45n144.2, 155, 158, 159n158.6–7, 165, 173, 180, 181n180.9, 188, 189– 90n188.29, 192–93, 208–10, 212, 241, 246, 248n246.1, 249–50, 254, 256, 264, 265, 267, 271, 276; relationship with editors and publishers, xix, xx, xxi, xxii, xxiii, 3–4, 4–5n3.17, 4n3.1, 4n3.11, 5n4.2, 7–8, 8n7.11, 10, 12n10.24, 15–16, 18, 19, 20, 20n20.1, 21–23, 26, 34–35, 50–51, 63, 66–67, 68–69, 90–91, 93, 95–96, 128–29, 148–49, 150, 164, 179–80, 184, 197, 202–3, 203n202.12, 224–26, 233, 261, 267, 268, 272, 274; social events, xix, xx, xxi, xxii, 46, 47, 48, 50n48.11–12, 61, 161, 162n161.19– 20, 223; social events, Bryanston Square parties, 117, 117n117.11–12, 118, 118n118.10; social events, German opera, 147, 148n147.29; social events, London Season, 78, 82, 107, 110–11, 125, 172, 179, 182, 186, 188, 191; social events, Reform Club dinner, 78, 80n78.19, 83; social events, Royal Academy of Arts dinner, 111, 114n111.28–29; social events, wedding, 112; subject of critical essays, 177, 178n177.15–16, 178n177.18–19; theater (criticism; interest in), xx, xxii, 33n33.1, 47, 48, 50n48.11–12, 58, 59n58.23, 61,
Index 78, 83, 84, 85–86n84.7–8, 112–13, 161, 162n161.19–20, 276; using “jr” in signature, 165n165.2, 166n165.21, 168n167.2 James, Henry, Jr., works: The American, 171, 172n171.21–28, 268; The Art of Fiction (Cupples, Upham and Company), xxiv; “The Art of Fiction” (Longman’s Magazine), xxiii, 208, 208n208.12– 13, 218, 220n218.1–2, 221n218.29, 223n222.7, 225, 226–27n225.13–14, 254, 258n254.12–13, 279; “The Author of ‘Beltraffio’” (English Illustrated Magazine), xxii, 40n38.1, 110, 114n110.29–30, 145, 146n145.32, 150, 151n150.11–12, 277; “The Author of Beltraffio” ( James R. Osgood and Company), 95, 96n95.31– 34, 128–29, 130n129.10–11, 226, 261; Balzac (review), 258n254.26; The Bostonians, xix, xxiii, 9n8.7, 181n180n5, 188, 189n188.23, 274; The Bostonians (Century Magazine), 3, 4–5n3.17, 10, 12n10.30, 22, 24n22.10, 55, 56n55.6, 129, 130n129.14–15, 132, 133n132.7, 179, 180n179.14, 180–81n179.14–15, 181n179.24–25, 182, 183n182.22, 191, 194n191.9, 197, 197n197.13, 200, 201n200.9, 202, 203n202.27, 225, 236, 244, 247n244.15–16, 254, 258n254.20, 261; “Casa Alvisi,” 264; “The Correspondence of Carlyle and Emerson,” 242n240.30; Daisy Miller: A Comedy, 4, 95, 96n95.25; En Province, xx, xxi, 18, 18n18.25–26; The Europeans, 268; “Four Meetings,” 96n95.31–34, 96n96.1–2, 128–29, 130n129.10–11; “George Eliot’s Life [by G. W. Cross]”, 24n22.23; “Georgina’s Reasons,” xxii, xxiii, 4, 5n4.2, 10, 12n10.23–24, 22, 24n22.10–11, 27–28n26.10–11, 96n95.31–34, 96n96.1– 2, 128–29, 129n129.8, 130n129.10–11, 261, 262n261.20; The Golden Bowl (HJ’s preface), 25n23.16–19; Guy Domville (play), 64n64.8; “Homburg Reformed,” 210n209.20–21; “Honore de Balzac” (1875), 258n254.26, 258– 59n254.30–31; “Honoré de Balzac” (1902), 258n254.26; “Impressions of a Cousin,” 3, 4n3.11; “International Episode,” 120n120.11; “In Warwick-
shire,” 201n200.9, 201n200.11; “Ivan Turgénieff,” 13, 15n13.30, 51, 51n51.7– 8; “John S. Sargent,” 139n135.23; “Lady Barberina,” xix, xxi, xxii, 3, 4n3.10, 4n3.11, 7–8, 8n7.19, 8n7.20, 12n10.28–29, 19, 19n19.9, 24n22.9–10, 28–29, 109–10, 110n109.31, 129, 164, 164n164.19; “The Lessons of Balzac,” 258n254.26; “The Letters of Honoré de Balzac,” 258n254.26; “A Light Man,” xx, xxi, 70, 71n70.24, 93, 93n93.15; A Little Tour in France, xxi, xxiii, 128, 129n128.10–11, 130n129.12–13, 150, 222, 223n222.4, 224–25, 226n225.7; “A London Life,” 49n48.8; “A New England Winter,” xix, xxii, xxiii, 3, 4n3.11, 7, 8n7.32, 12n10.28–29, 19, 24n22.10, 29, 64n63.29, 95–96, 96n95.27, 128, 129n128.25–26; “Niagara,” 233, 234n233.29; Notes (No. 15 of a Series) by Mr. Henry James on a Collection of Drawings by Mr. George du Maurier, xxii, 155–56n155.22; The Painter’s Eye, 265; “Pandora,” xxii, 4, 5n4.2, 10, 12n10.23–24, 22, 24n22.10–11, 26, 27–28n26.10–11, 95, 96n95.31–34, 128–29, 130n129.10–11, 261, 262n261.20; Partial Portraits, 22, 24n22.25–26; “The Path of Duty,” 96n95.31–34, 96n96.1–2, 128–29, 129n129.7–8, 130n129.10–11, 203, 203n203.3, 226; The Portrait of a Lady, 67–68n66.27–28, 139n134.17, 170–71, 172n170.28, 264, 268; Portraits of Places, 23, 25n23.29, 39, 43, 131–32, 234n233.29; The Princess Casamassima, xix, 21–22, 24n21.30, 24n22.2–3, 42–43, 45n42.34–43.1, 55, 56n55.6, 67, 67n66.16–17, 90–91, 91n90.12, 91n90.32, 91–92n91.4, 132, 133n132.7, 171, 172n171.33, 179, 181n179.28–29, 182, 183n182.22, 188, 189n188.23, 191, 194n191.9, 201– 2n200.12–13, 244, 247n244.15–16; reviews (La France politique et sociale), 271; reviews (“The Journal of the Brothers Goncourt”), 59n58.1; reviews (“Three French Books”), 12n10.19, 266; Roderick Hudson, 268; The Siege of London, 4, 95, 96n95.25; “A Study of Salvini,” xx, 78, 80n78.6–7, 84,
315
Index James, Henry, Jr., works (continued) 85–86n84.7–8; Tales of Three Cities, xx, xxiv, 4n3.11, 4–5n3.17, 19n19.9, 63, 64n63.11, 95, 96n95.26, 96n96.1–2, 129, 225, 226, 226n225.8; The Tragic Muse, 263; “The Turn of the Screw,” 271; “Venice,” 38–39, 40n38.25; Washington Square, 266 James, Henry, Sr. (Sr.; HJ’s father), 27n25.34, 53, 53n53.7, 75, 186, 237, 268, 269, 269, 270, 277, 284, 285; Christianity the Logic of Creation, 269; death of, 107, 245; execution of last will, xx, 15n14.2, 52, 53n52.14, 53n52.23– 24, 73n72.13, 133n131.33; The Literary Remains of the Late Henry James, 245, 247n245.11; properties included in last will, 52, 53n52.14, 131, 132n131.24–25, 248n246.1; The Secret of Swedenborg, 269; Society the Redeemed Form of Man, 269; “Stephen Dewhurst’s Autobiography,” 245, 247n245.12 James, Henry “Harry,” III (WJ’s son), 245, 247, 269, 270 James, Herman (W J’s son), xix, 25, 27n25.22–23, 27n25.28, 53, 53n53.6, 74–75, 76n74.19, 77, 98, 124–25, 245, 247, 270 James, Howard (HJ’s uncle), 27n25.34 James, Joseph Cary (GW J’s son), 43, 45n43.17, 269 James, Josephine Worth (HJ’s aunt), 25, 27n25.34, 74, 76n74.16, 127n125.21–22 James, Margaret “Peggy” Mary (Mrs. Bruce Porter) (W J’s daughter), 269 James, Mary Lucinda Holton (RJ’s wife), 125, 127n125.11, 127n125.21–22, 131, 237, 238n237.19–20, 244, 270 James, Mary Robertson Walsh (MWJ; HJ’s mother), 61n60.22–23, 75, 107, 186, 187n187.2, 190n189.10, 201n200.9, 201n200.11, 268, 269, 270, 277, 284, 292 James, Mary Walsh (Vaux) (RJ’s daughter), 238n237.19–20, 270 James, Olivia M. Cutting (W J’s daughter-in-law), 270 James, Robertson “Bob” (RJ), xx, xxiii, 48, 50n48.30, 53n52.14, 72, 76n75.16, 97–98, 127n125.11–12, 127n125.21–22, 131,
238n237.17, 243, 247, 269, 270; family, xxi, 13n11.14–15, 125, 127n125.11, 131, 237, 238n237.19–20, 244–45; illness and health, 238n237.19–20, 245, 270 James, William (WJ), xix, 5n4.2, 11, 27n25.22–23, 27n25.28, 45n43.9, 48, 73n72.13, 76n74.9, 76n75.16, 80n77.11, 99n97.20, 99n97.25–26, 101n100.22– 24, 124, 127n124.33–34, 132n131.24, 189–90n188.29, 202n200.14, 225, 227n225.18, 229, 232n229.10, 247n244.29, 247–48n245.30–31, 248n246.1, 269, 270, 284, 286, 291, 292; academic and professional career, xx, 98, 99n98.20, 246, 247, 248n247.6, 270, 271; “The Dilemma of Determinism,” 247, 248n247.6; execution of Sr.’s last will, xx, 52, 53n52.14, 53n52.23–24, 73n72.13; family concerns, 13n11.14– 15, 25–26, 71–72, 74–75, 76n74.19, 77, 98, 125, 127n125.21–22, 131; health and illness, xxiii, 106, 236, 245; The Letters of William James, 270; letters to (1884), 25–27, 52–53, 71–72, 74–75, 97–98, 130–32, 236–37, 243–47; Memories and Studies, 270; Pragmatism, 270; The Principles of Psychology, 270; travel, 127n126.27, 238n236.10, 238n236.34– 237.1, 247n244.11; The Varieties of Religious Experience, 270; “What Is an Emotion?,” xx, 99n98.20, 99n98.21, 126; The Will to Believe, 270 James, William “Bill” (WJ’s son), 245, 247, 269, 270 James family, 12n10.7–14, 12–13n11.1, 13n11.16, 61n60.1, 61n60.22–23, 133n131.33, 139n134.17, 141n141.1, 189n188.1, 189–90n188.29, 220n217.31, 232n229.9, 248n246.1, 248n246.9, 264, 265, 271, 272, 273, 277 James R. Osgood and Company, xxiii, xxiv, 4n3.11, 4–5n3.17, 10, 12n10.28–29, 19n19.1, 91, 91–92n91.4, 96n95.26, 180–81n179.14–15, 274, 277 Jerusalem, 278 Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore), 207n206.18 Jones, Frederic Rhinelander, 233n230.22 Jones, Mary Cadwalader Rawle, 230, 233n230.22, 233n230.26
316
Index Keats, John, 256, 259n256.4–5; “The Eve of St. Agnes,” 178n177.19–20 Keene Valley (Adirondacks NY), 238n236.10, 238n236.34–237.1, 247n244.11, 248n246.1 Kemble, Frances “Fanny” Anne, 48, 49– 50n48.9, 191, 227n226.1, 270–71 Kensington Square, no. 40 (London), 192, 195n192.13 King, Clarence Rivers, xxi, 106–7, 108n106.30, 108–9n106.34–107.2, 230, 271 King James Bible (Revised Version), 88, 89n88.11 Kirkland Street, no. 59 (Cambridge MA), 225 La Farge, John, 73n72.7, 125, 131, 271, 276; Henry James (portrait), 72, 73n72.7, 74 La Farge, Margaret Perry, 271 Lamb House (Rye, East Sussex), 64n64.8, 270 Lang, Andrew, 123, 124n123.10, 202n200.22–23, 267; The Homeric Hymns, 124n123.10–11; The Iliad of Homer Done into English Prose, 124n123.10–11 Lang, Leonora Blanche Alleyne, 200, 202n200.22–23, 202n200.23 Larson, Sharon, 59n58.4 Lathrop, George Parson: Newport, 55, 57n55.27 Laugel, Auguste, xix, 10, 12n10.22, 35, 36n35.15, 132, 211, 250, 251n250.5, 271; La France politique et sociale, 271 Laugel, Elizabeth Bates Chapman, 10, 12n10.22, 36n35.15, 271 Laurence, Dan H., 93n93.15, 96n95.27 Lawrence, Catherine Sumner, xxii, 121, 121n121.17 Lawrence, Charles Napier, 1st Baron Lawrence of Kingsgate, xxii, 121, 121n121.17, 140n137.3–4 Lawrence, Louisa Elizabeth, xxi, 95n94.1, 271; letters to (1884), 94, 100 Lawrence, Louisa Senior, 95n94.1, 271 Lawrence, Mary Wilhelmina, 95n94.1, 100, 101n100.23, 271; letter to (1884), 94
Lawrence, Sir James John Trevor, 2nd Baronet, 271 Lawrence, Sir William, 95n94.1, 271 Lazarus, Emma, 15n14.2, 15n14.8, 226, 271; letter to (1884), 13–14; “The New Colossus,” 15n13.22, 271 Lee, Robert E., 265 Lee, Vernon (pseud. of Violet Paget). See Paget, Violet (pseud., Vernon Lee) Leeds Mercury, 168n167.1, 275 Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society, 167 Leicester Square, no. 1 (London), 234, 235n234.29 Leighton, Sir Frederic, xx, 83–84, 85n83.26 Leopold (Prince, Duke of Albany), 77– 78, 79n76.13, 80n77.31–32, 82, 107 Lewis, Lady Elizabeth Eberstadt, xxii, 110n109.23, 169n169.2, 271; letters to (1884), 109–10, 168–69 Lewis, Sir George Henry, 110n109.23, 169n169.2, 271 Lisle Street, no. 40 (London), 234, 235n234.29 Liverpool (England), xxiii, xxiv, 238n237.4–5, 244, 247n244.18, 253, 257n252.28, 259, 261n259.33 Lockwood, Benoni, 15n14.26 Lockwood, Florence Bayard, 14, 15n14.26 Lodge, Anna Sophia Cabot, 11, 13n11.18, 225 Lombard, Essie, 272 Lombard, Fanny, 10, 12n10.7–14, 48, 271, 272 Lombard, Mrs., xix, 10, 12n10.7–14, 48, 107, 271–72 London, xix, xx, xxi, xxii, xxiii, 8, 9n8.6, 14, 15n14.2, 17, 23, 27, 29, 30, 32n30.22, 32, 33, 34, 35, 38, 39, 41, 50, 52, 54, 55, 58, 60, 61, 62, 63, 69, 77–78, 81, 82, 83, 88, 92n92.6, 93, 103, 104, 105n103.30, 107, 108n106.29, 109n107.19–21, 109– 10, 110–11, 123, 124n123.10, 125–26, 135, 136, 141–42n141.1, 149, 156–57, 161, 165, 168n167.1, 170n169.23, 172n172.3, 177, 179, 180, 182, 186, 187, 188, 191, 192, 193, 195n192.13, 195n192.13–14, 195n193.5, 195n193.12–13, 198, 198–
317
Index London (continued) 99n198.21–22, 199, 202, 205n204.12– 13, 209, 212, 214, 223–24n223.15, 224n223.22, 227, 229, 234, 235n234.22– 23, 236, 244, 250, 252, 255, 260, 263, 264, 265, 271, 273, 276, 286 Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth: “The Psalm of Life,” 242n240.23 Longman’s Magazine, xxiii, 208, 208n208.12–13, 218, 220n218.1–2, 225, 254 Lord, Janet Hay, 166, 166n166.3 Lord, John Taylor, 166n166.3 Lord and Taylor (New York City department store), 166n166.3 Loring, Caleb William, 234, 235, 235n234.20, 235n234.21 Loring, Francis William, 26, 28n26.13 Loring, Katharine Peabody, xix, xxiii, xxiv, 9, 12n9.28, 27, 47–48, 49n47.32, 76–77, 79, 79n76.30–31, 80n79.1, 106, 108n106.2, 234, 235n234.9, 235n234.20, 235n234.22–23, 237, 238n237.4–5, 244, 247n244.25, 261n259.33, 269, 272 Loring, Louisa Putnam, xix, 12n9.28, 79n76.30–31, 108n106.2, 235n234.9, 235n234.20, 272, 279; letter to (1884), 234–35 Lowe, Elena, 289–90 Lowe, Francis, 289–90 Lowell, Frances “Fanny” Dunlap, 133, 228–29, 232n228.32 Lowell, James Russell, xxii, 113, 115– 16n113.3, 116n113.10–11, 163, 163n163.9– 10, 228–29, 232n288.20, 232n228.24–25, 232n229.1–2, 272; letters to (1884), 133–34, 239 Lowell Institute (Boston), 207n206.18, 207n206.29–30, 217n216.22, 239, 240n239.20 Lyceum Theatre (London), 33n33.1, 109n107.19–21 Mackay, Donald James (11th Lord Reay and 1st Baron Reay), 85n82.31, 113, 116n113.13, 195n192.14, 272 Mackay, Fanny Georgina Jane Hasler Mitchell (Lady Reay), 82, 85n82.31, 112, 115n112.10, 192, 195n192.14, 272 Macmillan, Daniel, 203n202.12, 272
Macmillan, Frederick Orridge, 184, 203n202.12, 203n202.22, 203n202.31, 203n202.31–32, 203n202.32, 203n203.1, 272; letter to (1884), 202–3 Macmillan, Georgiana Elizabeth Warrin, 202, 203, 203n202.22, 203n202.31, 203n202.31–32, 203n202.32, 203n203.1, 272 Macmillan and Company, 128, 150, 184, 185n184.16–17, 202, 203n202.12, 226, 261, 272 Macmillan’s Magazine, 66, 67–68n66.27– 28, 110, 129 Madam: letter to (1884), 208 Maher, Jane, 13n11.14–15, 127n125.11 Manchester Guardian, 33n32.29 Mannheim (Germany), 271 Margate (England), xxiii, 214 Marine Parade (Dover), 229, 232n229.6 Marion (MA), 8, 9n8.7, 180, 181n180.5 Marlborough House (London), 192, 195n192.13–14 Marlborough St., no. 312 (Boston), 55, 285 Marshall, Charles H., 277 Mary (maid of HJ), 48 Mason, Alice, 193 Massinet, Jules: Manon (opera), 46, 46n46.3 Mathews, Florence Wilkinson, 61n60.1, 61n60.21, 272; letter to (1884), 60 Mathews, Francis Cloughton, 61n60.22– 23 Mathews, Mary James Wilkinson, 60, 61n60.22–23 Mead, Larkin Goldsmith, 268 Mead, Mary Jane Noyes, 268 Mentmore (Aylesbury), 275 Merton College (Oxford), xxiv, 253, 257n253.13 Mildmay, Lt. Col. Herbert Alexander St. John, xxi, 48, 50n48.22–23, 112, 115n112.4–5, 272, 273 Mildmay, Susan Margaret Stackpole Motley. See Motley, Susan Margaret Millais, Sir John Everett, xx, 83, 85n83.26 Millar, Charles Christian Hoyer, 155, 156n155.23, 209, 210n209.26 Milton, John: Paradise Lost, 69–70n69.1
318
Index Milwaukee (WI), xx, xxi, 77, 131, 238n237.19–20, 269 Milwaukee Art Museum, 125, 127n125.11– 12 Mind, xx, 98, 247–48n245.30–31 Mir, Mahbub Ali Khan (Nizam of Hyderabad), 104, 105n104.21 Montague, William (7th Duke of Manchester), xxi, 113, 116n113.7 Montaigne, Michel de, 274 Morison, J. Cotter, xxi, 102n101.15, 273; Gibbon, 102n101.15, 273; letter to (1884), 101; The Life and Times of St. Bernard, 102n101.15, 273; Macaulay, 102n101.15, 273 Morton, Anna Livingston Reade Street, 62, 62n62.6 Morton, Levi P., 62n62.6 Motley, John, 50n48.22–23, 273 Motley, Susan Margaret Stackpole (Mildmay), xxi, 48, 50n48.22–23, 112, 113, 115n112.4–5, 273 Mount Vernon Street, no. 59 (Boston), 225 Mount Vernon Street, no. 129 (Boston), 225 Mount Vernon Street, no. 131 (Boston), 78, 80n78.32, 124 Munroe, Allen, 246, 248n246.9 Museum of Fine Arts (Boston), 127n125.16, 266 Myers, Eveleen “Evie” Tennant, 119n119.1, 119n119.16, 273; letters to (1884), 119, 121 Myers, Frederic William Henry, 119, 119n119.16, 131, 133n131.32, 273; Phantasms of the Living, 132–33n131.29 Nation, 12n10.22, 82, 85n82.9–10, 141n141.1, 234n233.29, 254, 267, 271, 273 National Academy of Design (New York City), 139n135.4 National Gallery (London), xx, 83 Neftel, William B., xx, 28n27.1, 47, 49n47.28, 72, 73n72.5, 76, 108n105.31, 273 Neubauer, Adolph, 89n88.12–13 Newport (RI), 75, 264, 271, 274 New York City, xx, xxi, xxii, 14, 27,
28n27.1, 45n43.9, 47, 48, 63, 75, 76, 98, 105, 106, 108n105.31, 149n148.18, 166n166.3, 172n172.3, 177, 207n206.29– 30, 225, 266, 273, 277 New York Evening Post, 37n35.31, 267 New York Sun, xxii, xxiii, 5n4.2, 10, 12n10.24, 22, 24n22.10–11, 27– 28n26.10–11, 55, 129, 261, 266 New York Tribune, 99n97.13–14, 116n113.5–6, 148n147.19, 268, 276 Nizam of Hyderabad (Mir Mahbub Ali Khan Bahadur, Asaf Jah VI), 104, 105n104.21 Norodom (king of Cambodia), 104, 105n104.21 North American Review, 115–16n113.3, 141n141.1, 272, 273 North End Road, no. 49 (West Kensington), 139n136.24, 195n192.13 Northern Pacific Railway, 37n35.29, 37n35.31 Northern Whig, 268 North Lake (WI), 127n125.11, 237 Northwick Terrace, no. 7 (London), 203, 203n203.1 Norton, Andrews, 273 Norton, Catharine Eliot, 273 Norton, Charles Eliot, xxi, xxii, 44n41.1, 84, 85n82.25, 85n82.26, 86n84.10, 115n112.21, 141–42n141.1, 142n141.10–11, 149, 149n149.7, 162n161.11, 162n161.21, 162n161.27, 191–92, 195n192.3, 195n192.12, 195n192.25, 229, 255, 266, 273, 274, 276, 286, 289, 291; letters to (1884), 141, 161 Norton, Eliot, 84, 273 Norton, Elizabeth “Lily” Gaskell, 273 Norton, Grace, 44n41.1, 44n41.12, 79n76.13, 80n78.19, 115n112.10, 189– 90n188.29, 194n190.34, 196n196.18, 202n200.14, 225, 251n250.16, 273–74, 286, 289; “The Correspondence of George Sand,” 258n254.5; “‘Darwinism Stated by Darwin Himself,’” 258n254.5; “Disinterested Curiosity,” 258n254.5, 258n254.24–25; health and illness, 257n252.25–26; The Influence of Montaigne, 274; letters to (1884), 41–44, 81–84, 110–13, 190–94, 252–56; “Memory,” 258n254.5, 258n254.24–
319
Index Norton, Grace (continued) 25; “Ménangiana,” 258n254.5, 258n254.24–25; “The Riverside Shakspere,” 82, 85n82.9–10, 258n254.5; The Spirit of Montaigne, 274; Studies in Montaigne, 274 Norton, Richard “Dick,” 274 Norton, Sara “Sally,” 82–83, 84, 85n82.25, 112, 161, 162n161.27, 192, 195n192.3, 274 Norton, Susan Ridley Sedgwick, 85n82.25, 85n82.26, 115n112.21, 141– 42n141.1, 195n192.25, 273, 274, 276 Noyes, John Humphrey, 268 Oliphant, Margaret: “Three Young Novelists,” 218, 220n218.8–9 Olney, Richard, 270 Opdycke, Leonard Eckstein, 289 Opéra-Comique (Paris), 46n46.3 Osgood, James Ripley, xix, xxiii, 4n3.1, 4n3.11, 29, 63, 91, 91–92n91.4, 179, 181– 82, 191, 274; letters to (1884), 3–4, 197 Othello (play), xx, 48, 50n48.11–12 Otsego Lake (NY), 127n126.27 Ouroussoff, Marie (Russian princess), xix, 42, 45n42.26, 47, 274 Ouroussoff, Serge, 45n42.26, 274 Paget, Violet (pseud., Vernon Lee), 219, 221n219.22, 247, 274; Belcaro, 243n241.26; Euphorion, 219, 241, 243n241.4; letters to (1884), 184, 240– 42; Miss Brown, xxiii, 184, 185n184.1, 185n184.12–13, 185n184.13, 185n184.25, 240, 241, 247, 274; “Signor Curiazio,” 243n240.32 Palazzo Giustiniani-Recanati (Venice), 264 Pall Mall Budget, xx Pall Mall Gazette, xx, 78, 80n78.6–7, 84, 85–86n84.7–8, 97, 99n97.23 Paris, xix, 6, 8, 9–10, 12n10.21, 14, 16, 20–21n20.2, 20n20.1, 22, 26, 28n26.31, 29, 32–33, 35, 38, 40n38.2, 41–42, 45n42.26, 45, 46n45.17, 46n46.15, 47, 48, 50, 51, 52–53, 55, 58, 59n58.24, 60, 62, 65, 66, 68, 69n68.7, 78, 83, 107, 111, 132, 135, 136, 142, 237, 241, 249, 250, 265, 275, 276; letters from (1884),
13–14, 15–16, 17, 18, 19, 28–31, 38–40, 41–44 Parisian, 20n20.1, 265 Park Lane (London), 192, 195n192.13–14 Park Lane, no. 38 (London), 166, 166n166.3 Parkman, Francis, 274; The California and Oregon Trail, 274; Vassall Morton, 274 Parsons, Alfred, xx, 64n64.8, 274; letter to (1884), 64 Pasteur, Louis, xx, 98, 99n98.26, 100, 100n98.26–27, 101n100.22–24 Pavonia (ship), xxiv, 261n259.33 Payn, James, xx, 82, 145n144.14, 274; letter to (1884), 144; Mirk Abbey, 144n144.1, 274; By Proxy, 85n82.23–24 Pell-Clark, Henrietta Temple, 13n11.7, 126, 127n126.27, 277 Pembroke College (Cambridge), 18n17.18 Perkins, Helen Rodgers Wyckoff, 187, 187n187.2 Perry, Gerald Raoul, 290 Perry, Lydia “Lilla” Cabot, 56; Poems in Prose (translation), 54, 56n54.9–10, 56n54.23 Perry, Sir William, 290 Perry, Thomas Sergeant, 30, 32n30.32, 39, 124n123.11–12, 183, 202n200.14, 271, 274, 285; letters to (1884), 54–56, 123, 217–19; “The Progress of Literature,” 220n218.16–17 Perugini, Carlo, 87n86.29, 112, 115n112.24, 275 Perugini, Catherine “Kate” Elizabeth Macready Dickens, 86–87, 87n86.29, 112, 115n112.21, 115n112.24, 275 Phelps, Edward J., 232n229.1–2 Philadelphia (PA), 207n206.29–30, 230 Phillips, Ann, 116n113.5–6 Phillips, Claude, 140n137.19–20 Phillips, Wendell, 116n113.5–6 Phipps, Jessie Percy Butler Duncan, 164n163.21, 275; letter to (1884), 163 Phipps, William Wilton, 164n163.21, 275 Pimlico (London), 112, 115n112.24 Playfair, Lady Edith, 135, 139n135.26, 192, 195n192.26–27, 212 Podmore, Fred: Phantasms of the Living, 132–33n131.29
320
Index Pollock, Lady Georgina Harriet Deffell, xxiv, 237, 238n236.10, 238n236.34– 237.1, 238n237.3–4, 244, 245–46, 247, 247n244.9, 247n244.11, 248n245.31 Pollock, Sir Frederick, xxiv, 237, 238n236.10, 238n236.34–237.1, 238n237.3–4, 244, 245–46, 247n244.9, 247n244.11 Pomfret (CT), 188, 189–90n188.29 Pontrilas Court, 60, 61n60.21 Portland Place, no. 88 (London), 110n109.23 Portugal, 190n189.1 Powlett, Catherine Lucy Wilhelmina, Duchess of Cleveland, xxii, 134; History of Battle Abbey, 134n134.1 Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, 85n83.26 Primrose, Archibald Philip (5th Earl of Rosebery), xx–xxi, 61, 78, 80n78.26, 89n87.22, 98, 107, 113, 198–99n198.21– 22, 223n221.19–20, 223n221.22–23, 275; letters to (1884), 87–88, 221–22 Primrose, Hannah de Rothschild (Countess of Rosebery), xx–xxi, 61, 78, 87–88, 89n87.22, 98, 107, 113, 222, 275 Princeton Review, 177, 178n177.15–16 Princeton Theological Seminary, 269 Procter, Anne Benson Skepper, 8, 9n8.5, 275 Procter, Bryan Waller (pseud., Barry Cornwall), 9n8.5, 275 Protestant Cemetery (Rome), 278 Punch, 209, 210n209.5–6, 266 Putnam, Charles Pickering, 246, 248n246.1 Putnam, James Jackson, 246, 248n246.1 Putnam Camp and Putnam Shanty (Keene Valley NY), 248n246.1 Ralli, Pandeli, xxiii, 199, 201n199.25, 204, 205n204.19, 214, 215n214.5, 275 Ralston, William. See Shedden-Ralston, William Ralston Rawle, William Henry, 230, 233n230.26 The Realist, 137, 140n137.27 Reay, Lady. See Mackay, Fanny Georgina Jane Hasler Mitchell (Lady Reay) Reay, Lord. See Mackay, Donald James (11th Lord Reay and 1st Baron Reay) Reform Club (Pall Mall, London), xx,
78, 79n76.13, 80n78.19, 83, 145n144.14, 158, 167, 173 Reid, Thomas Wemyss, 168n167.1, 275; letter to (1884), 167 Representation of the People Act (Third Reform Act, 1884), 230, 232n230.2, 232n230.5–6 Reubell, Frederick, 251n249.9 Reubell, Henrietta, 46n45.17, 175n174.16, 250n249.5, 275, 279; letters to (1884), 45–46, 211–12, 248–50 Reubell, Julia Coster, 46, 211, 249, 251n249.9 Reynolds, Sir Joshua, xx, 83 Rich, Gertrude Barbara, 119n119.1 Richardson, Henry Hobson, 225, 227n225.18 Richelieu (play), 172n172.3 Richter, Hans, 223, 223–24n223.15, 224n223.22 Robertson, Caroline Anna Crompton, 245, 247–48n245.30–31 Robertson, George “J.” Croom, xxiv, 245, 246, 247–48n245.30–31 Robinson, Agnes Mary F., 241, 243n241.26 Robinson, John Richard, 144, 145n144.14 Rockefeller Institute, 270 Rogerson, Christina Stewart, 49n48.5 Rome, 49–50n48.9, 58, 271 Rose, Sir John, 13n11.8–9, 77, 80n77.31, 265 Rosebery, Lady. See Primrose, Hannah de Rothschild (Countess of Rosebery) Rosebery, Lord. See Primrose, Archibald Philip (5th Earl of Rosebery) Rothschild, Ferdinand de, xxiii, 106–7, 108–9n106.34–107.2, 176n176.5, 193 Rothschild, Louise Montefiore de, 175n174.16 Rothschild, Mayer Amschel de, 275 Rothschild, Sir Anthony de, 264 Roundell, Charles Savile, xxiv, 253, 258n253.17–18 Roundell, Julia Anne Elizabeth Toll mache, xxiv, 253, 258n253.17–18 Royal Academy of Arts (London), 85n83.26, 107, 111, 114n111.28–29, 135, 137
321
Index Roy’s Private Hotel (Grosvenor Square, London), 141, 142n141.20 Rucellai, Count Cosimo, 264 Rucellai, Countess of (Edith Bronson), 264 Ruskin, John, 161, 162n161.21, 162n161.27 Russell, Francis Charles Hastings, 9th Duke of Bedford, xxii, 161, 162n161.18 Russell, Lady Elizabeth Sackville-West, xxii, 161, 162n161.18 Salvini, Tommaso, xx, 48, 50n48.11–12, 58, 59n58.23, 61, 78, 84, 85–86n84.7–8, 94, 276 Sand, George, 55, 57n55.29 Sands, Katharine Buckley. See Godkin, Katharine Buckley Sands Sands, Mahlon Day, 7n5.25, 62n62.6, 228, 231n228.17 Sands, Mary Morton Hartpence, 6n5.12, 7n5.25, 7n6.16, 62n62.6, 228, 231n228.17, 231n228.18–19, 276; letters to (1884), 5–6, 61–62 San Francisco (CA), 195n193.12–13 Santley, Elizabeth Mary Rose-Innes, 198n198.1, 199n198.24, 276; letter to (1884), 198 Santley, George, 198, 198n198.1, 199n198.26, 276 Sargent, John Singer, xix, xx, xxii, 26, 28n26.16, 42, 78, 83, 107, 111, 114n111.20, 135, 136–37, 142, 144, 144– 45n144.2, 145n144.17, 158, 159n158.6– 7, 164n163.21, 173, 192–93, 195n193.5, 212, 241, 243n241.9–10, 246, 249–50, 275, 276; Dinner Table at Night (painting), 250, 251n250.13; Edith, Lady Playfair (painting), 135, 139n135.26, 192, 195n192.26–27, 212; Edward Vickers (painting), 250, 251n250.13; Garden Study of the Vickers Children (painting), 250, 251n250.13; Margaret Stuyvesant Rutherford White (Mrs. Henry White) (painting), 107, 109n107.17–18, 111, 135– 36; The Misses Vickers (painting), 193, 195n193.23–24, 250, 251n250.13; Mr. & Mrs. John White Field (portrait), 192, 195n192.25; Mrs. Albert Vickers (Edith Foster) (painting), 250, 251n250.13; Mrs. Thomas E. Vickers (painting), 250,
251n250.13; Mrs. Thomas Wodehouse Legh (painting), 111, 114n111.13–15, 136; Portrait of Madame X (painting), 136, 139n136.14–15 Sartiges, Anna Dodge Thorndike, 265 Sartiges, Eugéne de, 265 Saturday Review, 102n101.15, 268, 273 Savile Club (Piccadilly, London), xxi, 101, 142, 143n142.20, 145n144.17, 158, 159n158.17 Saye, Lord, 201n200.9 Saye and Sele, Lord, 201n200.9 Schérer, Edmond Henri Adolphe, xxi, 94, 95n94.11 Scotland, 221, 228 Scribner’s Monthly, 8n7.11, 69n68.7, 69n68.27, 267 Sedgwick, Theodora, 82, 85n82.25, 161, 162n161.27 Sellar, Eleanor Mary, 276; letter to (1884), 122; Recollections and Impressions, 122n122.1, 276 Sellar, William Young, 122n122.1, 276 Sergéitch, Ivan. See Turgenev, Ivan Sevilla, Janey, Lady Archibald Campbell, 137; Rainbow Music, 140n137.16–17 Shady Hill (Cambridge MA), 273 Shakespeare, William, 41, 82, 85n82.9– 10, 98, 109n107.10–11, 263 Shaw, Robert Gould, 269 Shedden-Ralston, William Ralston, 34, 36n34.19, 36n34.20 Sherwood, Mary Elizabeth Wilson, 120; Manners and Social Usages, 120n120.11 Simon, Lady Jane O’Meara, 82, 85n82.26, 112, 192, 195n192.13, 276, 276 Simon, Sir John, 82, 85n82.26, 112, 192, 195n192.13, 276, 276 Sir: letter to (1884), 196 Smalley, George Washburn, 116n113.5–6, 148n147.19, 276; letter to (1884), 147 Smalley, Phoebe Garnaut, 113, 116n113.5– 6, 276 Smith, Sarah Ward Lyon, 230, 233n230.22–23 Smith, William Farrar “Baldy,” 233n230.22–23 Society for Psychical Research, 119n119.16, 273 Society of American Artists, 181n180.9
322
Index Society to Encourage Studies at Home, 272 Sotheby Parke Bernet & Co., 292 Southampton (Hampshire), xxiii Spain, 79n76.30–31, 81, 115–16n113.3, 190n189.1, 272 Spencer, Frederick, 257–58n253.17 Spencer, Herbert, 276 Spencer, John Poyntz, 257–58n253.17 Spencer, Lady Sarah Isabella, xxiv, 253, 257–58n253.17 Stamford (CT), 186, 187n186.25 Statue of Liberty, 15n13.22, 271 Stephen, Leslie, 183n182.32 Stevenson, Robert Louis, 122n122.1, 267, 276 Stewart, Harriet Everilda Gore, 48, 49n48.5, 49n48.8 Stickney, Albert, 72, 73n72.11, 74, 276 St. James’s Gazette, 114n111.28–29 St. John’s Wood (London), 198, 199n198.24, 203n203.1 Stories by American Authors, xx, 71n70.24, 93n93.15 Story, Emelyn Eldredge, 140n137.18–19 Story, Julian Russell: Aesop’s Fables (painting), 140n137.18–19; Cardinal Howard (painting), 137, 140n137.19–20 Story, William Wetmore, 140n137.18–19 Strong, Charles, 44n41.11, 276 Strong, Eleanor Burrit Fearing, 41, 42, 44n41.11, 192, 193, 276 Strouse, Jean: Alice James, 272 Sudan, 36–37n35.19–20 Sun. See New York Sun Swanswick, 127n126.27 Swift, Hannah W. Howard, 41, 44n41.12 Switzerland, 39, 40n38.1, 79n76.30–31, 157, 157n157.4–5, 189–90n188.29, 203n202.32, 278 Sybil, 88, 222 Symonds, John Addington, 40n38.1, 40n39.31–33, 145, 146n145.31–32, 277; letter to (1884), 38–40; New Italian Sketches, 39, 40n39.18–19; A Problem in Greek Ethics, 146n145.32; The Renaissance in Italy, 40n38.28–29; Sketches in Italy, 39, 40n39.18–19 Syracuse (NY) properties, 52, 53n52.14, 131, 132n131.24–25, 248n246.9
Tangiers (Morocco), 10 Tanselle, G. Thomas, 280; “Recent Editorial Discussion and the Central Questions of Editing,” 281–82 Tauchnitz, Baron Christian Bernhard, 39, 40n39.18–19 Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA), 270 Tel-el-Kebir, Battle of (Egypt War of 1882), 147n146.23, 278 Temple, Catharine James, 277 Temple, Ellen “Elly” James, 13n11.7, 72, 73n72.2, 77, 80n77.24, 277 Temple, Katharine “Kitty,” 13n11.7, 277 Temple, Lady Charlotte, 13n11.8–9, 265 Temple, Mary “Minny,” 13n11.7, 73n72.2, 267, 277 Temple, Robert “Bob,” 13n11.7, 277 Temple, Robert Emmet, 277 Temple, William, 13n11.7, 277 Tennant, Charles, 119n119.1, 273 Tennant, Dorothy “Dolly,” 119n119.1 Tennant, Elsie “Alice,” 119n119.1 Tennant, Gertrude Barbara Rich Collier, 273 Tennyson, Alfred, 1st Baron Tennyson, 263 Thackeray, William Makepeace, 263 Third Reform Act (Representation of the People Act, 1884), 230, 232n230.2, 232n230.5–6 Thornycroft, W. Hamo, 18n17.18 Ticknor, Benjamin Holt, xix, xx, xxi, 19n19.1, 96n96.1–2, 227n226.12–13, 277; letters to (1884), 19, 63, 95–96, 128–29, 150, 164, 224–26, 261 Time, 240, 242n240.23, 243n240.32 Tittensor (Staffordshire), 204, 205– 6n204.31, 213 Todd, James (Clarence Rivers King), 271 Toole, Florence Mabel, 112, 115n112.27 Toole, John Lawrence, 112, 115n112.27, 115n112.28 Toole, Susan Hale, 115n112.27 Tribune. See New York Tribune Trinity College (Cambridge), 183n182.32 Triqueti, Emilie (Julia) Forster, 265 Triqueti, Henry de, 265 Trivulzio Chapel (Basilica Nazaro, Brolo, Milan, Italy), 211, 213n211.27
323
Index Vickers, Mrs. Albert (Edith Foster; John Singer Sargent painting), 243n241.9– 10, 251n250.13 Vickers, Thomas, 195n193.23–24 Villa Brichieri (Bellosguardo, Florence, Italy), 278 Villard, Henry, 35, 37n35.31 Virgil: Aeneid, 99n98.17
Tunbridge Wells (Kent, England), 212, 249, 251n249.32 Turgenev, Ivan, 10, 12n10.16, 14, 15n14.11–12, 23, 34, 36n34.19, 42, 44n42.23–24, 47, 49n47.24, 51, 56, 278; “The Dog,” 36n34.20; “The Idiot,” 36n34.20; Liza, 36n34.20; Mémoires d’un seigneur russe, 51, 52n51.18; Poems in Prose, 54, 56n54.9– 10, 56n54.23; Scénes de la vie russe, 51, 51n51.15 Tweedy, Edmund, 13n11.7, 76n74.19, 277, 285 Tweedy, Mary Temple, 11, 13n11.7, 71–72, 76n74.19, 277, 285 Union College (Schenectady NY), 269 Unitarian Review and Religious Magazine, 247, 248n247.6 University of Cambridge, 18n17.18, 182, 183n182.32, 192, 195n192.3, 206, 207n206.28, 217n216.22 University of Edinburgh, 98, 100n98.26– 27, 113, 116n113.10–11 University of Oxford, xxiv, 88, 89n88.12– 13, 246, 250, 251n250.16, 253, 257n253.13 Upper Hamilton Terrace, no. 5 (St. John’s Wood, London), 198, 199n198.24 Varennes (château south of Paris), 265 Vasili, Paul: La société de Berlin, 6, 7n6.18 Venice, 102, 103n102.10, 103–4, 105n103.24, 130–31, 182, 195n193.12–13, 278 Viardot-G arcia, Claudie, 49n47.26 Viardot-G arcia, Louis, 49n47.24, 49n47.26 Viardot-G arcia, Louise Héritte, 49n47.26 Viardot-G arcia, Marianne, 49n47.26 Viardot-G arcia, Paul, 49n47.26 Viardot-G arcia, Pauline, 47, 49n47.24, 49n47.26 Vickers (daughters, John Singer Sargent painting), 193, 195n193.23–24 Vickers (family paintings by John Singer Sargent), 250, 251n250.13
Waddesdon Manor (Buckinghampshire), xxiii, 176, 176n176.5, 193, 196, 196n196.18 Wagner, Richard, 243n241.13–15; The Flying Dutchman (opera), 148n147.29 Wallace, Lew: Ben-Hur, 253, 258n253.29– 30 Walsh, Alexander Robertson (MWJ’s brother), 106, 108n106.19–20, 185, 186, 187n185.24, 187n185.33, 277 Walsh, Catharine (Aunt Kate, AK) (MWJ’s sister), 26, 27, 47, 48, 71, 74, 77, 79n77.3, 97, 106, 126, 186–87, 187n187.2, 226, 227n226.9, 244, 245, 277 Walsh, Elizabeth “Bessie” Robertson (HJ’s first cousin), 186, 187, 187n186.26–27, 277 Walsh, Emily M. Brown (MWJ’s sister- in-law), 187n186.28–29 Walsh, Louisa Corrin (HJ’s first cousin), 186, 187, 187n186.26–27, 277 Walsh, Olivia Brown “Lily” (HJ’s first cousin), 187n185.24, 187n186.26–27, 187n186.28–29, 277; letter to (1884), 185–87 Walton-on-Thames (Surrey), xxii, 169, 169n169.2 Ward, Lock & Co., 120 Ward, Mary Augusta Arnold, xxi, 33n32.15, 94, 95n94.11, 263, 277; letter to (1884), 32–33; Miss Bretherton, 33n33.1 Warner, Joseph Bangs, 131, 132, 133n131.33 Warwick (Warwickshire, England), 161, 162n161.11 Warwickshire (England), 161 Warwick Street, no. 141 (Pimlico, London), 112, 115n112.24 Washington DC, 207n206.29–30, 230
324
Index Webster’s Royal Red Book, 86, 87n86.30 Welling, Richard Ward Greene, 289 Welman, Kate Fearing Strong, 44n41.11 West 10th Street, no. 10 (New York City), 226 West 16th Street, no. 11 (New York City), 44n41.12 West 44th Street, no. 121 (New York City), 226 Westminster Aquarium, 223 Wharncliffe, Lord Edward Montagu Stuart Granville-Montagu-Stuart- Wortley-Mackenzie (1st Earl of Wharncliffe), 228, 231n228.19 Wharton, Edith, 233n230.22 Wheelock, Phyllis de Kay, 103n102.12 Whistler, James McNeill: Arrangement in Black (portrait), 137, 140n137.16–17 White, Margaret Stuyvesant Rutherford, 107, 109n107.17–18, 111, 135–36 White, Richard Grant, 82, 85n82.9–10 Wilkinson, Emma, 61n60.1, 61n60.22–23, 272 Wilkinson, James John Garth, 61n60.1, 61n60.22–23, 272 William Blackwood and Sons, 184, 185n184.13, 219 Wishaw, Bernard, 242n240.16
Wishaw, Ellen Mary Abdy Williams. See Abdy Williams, Ellen Mary Wister, Owen Jones, 227n226.1 Wister, Sarah Butler, 49–50n48.9, 226, 227n226.1, 271, 289 Wolseley, Lady Louisa Erskine, xxiii, 147n146.23, 175n174.21, 176n175.31–32, 196n196.18, 201n200.9, 201–2n200.12– 13, 205n204.19, 205–6n204.31, 215n213.27–28, 215n214.5, 216n214.29– 30, 223–24n223.15, 271, 278, 286, 292; letters to (1884), 146–47, 174, 175–76, 199–200, 204–5, 213–15, 223, 259–60 Wolseley, Sir Garnet Joseph, xxiii, 147n146.23, 166n165.20, 175n174.21, 204, 205n204.12–13, 205–6n204.31, 215n213.27–28, 215n214.5, 224n223.21, 267, 271, 278 Woolson, Constance Fenimore, xix, xxii, 30, 31, 32n30.22, 137–38, 140n137.33, 161, 162n161.19–20, 268, 278 Wormeley, Katharine Prescott, 190n189.10 Wroxton Abbey (Oxfordshire), 200, 201n200.11 Zola, Émile, xix, 23, 26, 29–30, 33n33.1, 263, 278; La joie de vivre, 30, 56, 57n56.7–8; L’assommoir, 278
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The Complete Letters of Henry James
The Complete Letters of Henry James, 1855–1872 Volume 1 (1855–1869) Volume 2 (1869–1872) The Complete Letters of Henry James, 1872–1876 Volume 1 (1872–1873) Volume 2 (1873–1875) Volume 3 (1875–1876) The Complete Letters of Henry James, 1876–1878 Volume 1 (1876–1877) Volume 2 (1877–1878) The Complete Letters of Henry James, 1878–1880 Volume 1 (1878–1879) Volume 2 (1879–1880) The Complete Letters of Henry James, 1880–1883 Volume 1 (1880–1881) Volume 2 (1881–1883) The Complete Letters of Henry James, 1883–1884 Volume 1 (1883–1884) Volume 2 (1884) To order or obtain more information on these or other University of Nebraska Press titles, visit nebraskapress.unl.edu.