Henry Crabb Robinson, 30 Russell Square, London, to Christopher Wordsworth, Jr., [no address], 18 October [18]50.

30 Russell Square

18th Oct: 50

My dear Sir

    I feel quite ashamed, I assure you, of sending you the Itinerary of my journey with W Wordsworth so poorly accompanied as it must be, And the more, because W. Wordsworth seems to have thought that I might be able to make a contribution to your work, worth your acceptance. At the same time I am much relieved by recollecting that he himself cared nothing for the connection which a place might have with a great poet, unless an acquaintance with it served to illustrate his works. He made his remark in the Church of St Onofrio in Rome where Tasso lies buried. The place which on this account interested him more than any other on the journey was Vaucluse while he cared nothing for Arezzo which claims to be the place of Petrarch’s birth. Indeed a Priest on the spot on another visit said, it is not certain that he was born there, much less in the house marked with his name. W. W. was not without the esprit de corps, even before his official dignity and took great interest in Savona on account of Chiabrera – as appears in the “Musings near Aquapendente[”] – perhaps the most beautiful of these memorials of the Italian tour “alas too few” – As he himself repeatedly said of the journey – “It is too late” – [“]I have matter for Volumes, he said once, had I but youth to work it up” – It is remarkable how in this admirable poem meditation predominates over observation It often happened that objects of universal attraction served chiefly to bring back to his mind absent objects dear to him – When we were in that noble spot the Amphitheatre at Verona Nismes I observed his eyes fixed in a direction where there was the least to be seen, And looking that way I beheld too [sic] very young children at play with flowers And I overheard him say to himself “Oh! you darlings I wish I could put you in my pocket & carry you to Rydal Mount” –

     It was Mr Theed the Sculptor who informed us of the Pine tree being the gift of Sir Geo: Beaumont This incident occurred within a few minutes after our walking up the Mincian [sic] Hill – And this was the very first observation Mr W. made at Rome.

     It was a remark justly made on the memorials of the Swiss Journey in 1820 that Mr W: left unnoticed the great objects which have given rise to innumerable common place verses & huge piles of bad prose, And which every body talks about, while he dwelt on impressions peculiar to himself – As a reproach, nothing can be more idle & unmeaning – I expected it would be so with these latter poems, And so I found it – There are not more than two others which bring any thing to my mind –

     The most important of these is the “Cuckoo at Laverna”  I recollect perfectly well that I heard the Cuckoo at Laverna twice before he heard it And that it absolutely fretted him that my ear was first favourd – And that he exclaimed with delight – I hear it! I hear it! It was at Laverna too that he led me to <–> expect that he had found a subject on which he would write – And that was the love which birds bore to St Francis he repeated to me a short time afterwards a few lines which I do not recollect among those he has written on St Francis in this poem – On the journey one night only I heard him repeating some ^in bed composing^ verses And on the following day I offerd to be his Emanuensis, but I was not patient enough I fear And he did not employ me a second time. [H]e made enquiries for St Francis’s biography as if he would dub him his Leib-heiliger – (body-saint) As Göthe (saying that every one might have one,) declared St Philip Neri to be his.

     The painter monk at Camaldoli also interested him, but he heard my account only in addition to a very poor exhibition of professional talent, but he would not allow the pictures to be so very poor – As every nun ought to be beautiful when she takes the veil –

     I recollect too the pleasure he expressed when I said to him – “you are now sitting in Dantes Chair It <–> faces the South transept of the Cathedral at Florence – I now recollect, tho’ I had forgotten it before something of the fat monks recorded in the 15th Sonnet.

     I have been often asked whether W. W. wrote any thing on the journey And my answer has always been – Little or nothing – Seeds were cast into the earth, And they took root slowly – This reminds me that I once was privy to the conception of a sonnet with a distinctness which did not once occur on the longer Italian journey. This was when I accompanied him into the Isle of Man We had been drinking tea with Mr & Mrs Cookson And left them when the weather was dull And there was nothing very exhilirating [sic] in the sight of the amiable old couple. Very soon after leaving them we passed the church tower of Bala Sala. The upper part of the tower was had a sort of freeze of yellow lichens – W. W. pointed it out to me and said “it’s a perpetual sun-shine” – I thought no more of it – till I read the beautiful sonnet

                         Broken in fortune, but in mind entire 

And then I exclaimed – I was present at the conception of this sonnet – at least of the combination of thought out of which it arose –

    I assure you I never put my name more reluctantly than I do now – The only sentence I write with satisfaction is the assurance that notwithstanding all the diversities not to say the oppositions there may be between us, I had great pleasure in your society lately And Begging my Comps to Mrs Christopher Wordsworth  I subscribe myself with sincere esteem

                        faithfully yours

                                    H. C. Robinson

Revd Dr Wordsworth

&c &c &c

Text: WLL, Robinson, Henry Crabb/21, Wordsworth Trust and Museum, Grasmere.  Two glosses in Robinson’s diary are pertinent here, the first on 17 October 1850, in which he writes, ‘All the morning at home where I also dined. I was engaged reading my journal of Tour with Wordsworth, but can find no materials for a letter to Dr W:...’ The second appears in his entry for the 18 October: ‘I devoted this day chiefly at the Athen: to the making a copy of my Itinerary in Italy with Wordsworth and writing some observations – few in quantity and not good, but it was a relief to me the having done it.’  For another copy of his Itinerary in Italy, see above, no. 6.