Letter to F. S.William Holman Hunt1Published with the permission of Iziko Museums of Cape TownLetter to F. S.Wednesday Night20 December /48.William Holman Hunt1848 December 20holograph fair copy3 pagesLibrary of the South African National Gallerypale blue unlined 7 1/4 x 8 3/4 inThe single sheet is folded into four pages
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This manuscript in preserved in the Rossetti/Wahl collection in the library
of the National Gallery of South Africa.
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Letter to F. S.Wednesday Night20 December /48.This morning—(No; for 'tis now past twelve,And, when that is past, I think we shelveInto another day)—I hoped toHave heard that Browning had been read thro'By Gabriel Charles Dante Rossetti:But, while on the stairs, loud fretted heWith his strangled hope; for he had beenTwice to Moxon's;—once with a loud dinHe had woken them last night of “IWant Browning,”—like small boys want taffy:But, as these little heathens appealIn vain, so do Early Christians feelThat Unless they have very strong faith,—“Which, thro' repeated trials,” he saith,“Was considerably weakened.”“We have not got the book, but will sendIt,” they said, “in a very few
days.”Dear Fred, I must cut this short: the raysFrom my rushlight have quite a ghostlyLook assumed,—as it doth mostlyIn my studio, but, ere I stop,Let me acquaint you that we must dropOur meeting, having not our great host,With whose poetry we should have dosedOur guests;—do not read dozed; for,
altho'We do not expect them to do so,Some might without our countenance,As Manley does over a Scotch romance,—At least has over the two he's read.I forgot to say I went to bedAfter “Our Guests” I had written.I had come home quite frost-bittenAfter being presented to Dukes, which was a fate I must rueFor ever, he is whiskery and tallAs the hairiest brush-wielder in Gaul:He studied—(let this comfort us)—Some time as cad to an omnibus;By which he saved money, and, by that, roseTo the eminent painter he knowsHimself to be; but, thro' much strugglingWith different trades and much jugglingIn different trades, he acquired thatKnowledge of nature that captures the flatOf a prize-holder in no time.I must finish this letter in rhymeBy sending it, for I have no other;For which I deeply grieve, dear brother.William Holman Hunt--------------------------