PREFACE. INVENIAS ETIAM DISJECTI MEMBRA POETÆ. 1 In the distribution of the lamented Southey's literary property, the History of the Brazils, his much treasured MS. History of Portugal, the Doctor, &c. and the MS. materials for its completion, fell to the share of Edith May Warter, his eldest child, and, as he used to call her, his right hand, -to whom he addressed the Dedication of the Tale of Paraguay, and to whom he commenced a little Poem of which the lines following are almost the last, if not the very last, he ever wrote in verse. O daughter dear, who bear'st no longer now Of Sussex hast exchanged thy native land b Of lakes and mountains, - neither change of place The present Volume is drawn up from the MS. materials alluded to, as nearly as possible in the order the Author had intended, and the seventh and concluding volume is in the press and will shortly be published. The whole of the MS. sheets, previous to being sent to the press, were cautiously examined by his no less amiable and excellent, than highly gifted Widow, who, at the time, was staying with us on a visit at West-Tarring. Had the lamented Southey continued the work, it was his intention, in this volume, to have advanced a step in the story,--and the Interchapters, no doubt, would have been enlarged, according to custom. His habit was, as he said, “ to lay the timbers of them, and to jot down, from time to time, remarks serious or jocose, as they occurred to him.” Full readily would this holy and humble man of heart have acceded to the truth conveyed in these lines from Martin Tupper's Proverbial philosophy,and none the less for their dactylic cadence. j There is a grave-faced folly; and verily a laughter loving wisdom; long; Yet merriment often as a froth, that mantleth on the strong mind: And note thou this for a verity,—the subtlest thinker when alone, From ease of thoughts unbent, will laugh the loudest with his fellows : And well is the loveliness of wisdom mirrored in a cheerful countenance, Justly the deepest fools are proved by dimpling eddies ; For that, a true philosophy commandeth an innocent life, And the unguilty spirit is lighter than a linnet's heart; Yea, there is no cosmetic like a holy conscience; The eye is bright with trust, the cheek bloomed over with affection, The brow unwrinkled with a care, and the lip triumphant in its gladness.* * Of Ridicule, 1st Series. On my acquainting Mrs. Southey with my intention of quoting these lines, she wrote me word back : “ That very passage I had noted, as singularly applicable to him we knew so well, - whom the world, the children of this generation,- knew so little !” The only liberty taken with the original MS. is the omission of, now and then a name, or even a paragraph, which might have given pain to the living. Such passages were thrown off playfully, and were, as Mrs. Southey can testify, erased by the author continually. It was no custom of Southey to cast “fire-brands, arrows, and death," and to say, “Am I not in sport?” , (Proverbs, xxvi. 18, 19.) It only remains to add that the Editor has carefully verified all references,—that he is responsible for the headings of the chapters (some few excepted,)—for the Mottoes to cc. clxxx. and clxxxi., -and for the casual foot notes. JOHN Wood WARTER. Vicarage House, |