as a Lincolnshire man. "All great poetry," said Russell Lowell, "must smack of the soil, for it must be rooted in it, must suck life and substance from it, but it must do so with the aspiring instinct of the pine that climbs forever toward diviner air." If further evidence of the use of environment were needed, what could be more significant and appropriate than the unrestrained admission of Charles Tennyson in the beautiful sonnet which I extract from the rarest of his volumes?— Hence with your jeerings, petulant and low, I learn but now what change the world can bring! Tennyson, like his two elder brothers, received the first part of his education at "Cadney's "-a schoolhouse in Holywell Glen of some repute at that time. It was opened about 1815 by Charles Clark, who, on leaving Somersby, was succeeded by William Cadney. Locally this worthy is now remembered on account of his placing a Latin inscription-a mixture of Horace and Virgil-over the entrance to the Glen, and any particular merit he may 1 William Howitt was the first to describe Tennyson's native place, and his words are worth quoting :-"The native village of Tennyson is not situated in the fens, but in a pretty pastoral district of softly sloping hills and large ash-trees. It is not based on bogs, but on a clean sandstone. There is a little glen in the neighbourhood, called by the old monkish name of Holywell. Over the gateway leading to it some by gone squire [an error: it should be Cadney] has put up an inscription, a medley of Virgil and Horace; and within, a stream of clear water gushes out on a sand rock, and over it stands the old schoolhouse almost lost among the trees, and of late years used as a wood have possessed, or whatever his special qualification for his work, cannot be related. Until the Tennyson brothers were sent to Louth Grammar School their education may have been partly under the supervision of their father, though it is not unlikely that no regular or systematic course of training was entered upon. I have already disposed of the fiction that Alfred and Charles Tennyson received the major portion of their education at Louth.1 As a matter of fact (Alfred was only just eleven years old, and Charles was only thirteen when they returned to Somersby, and Cadney was entrusted with the care of them. Their sojourn at Louth had been absolutely uneventful, and they brought back with them only bitter recollections of the headmaster's severity. Cadney's duty was to teach the boys arithmetic, but a quarrel with the Doctor abruptly terminated the engagement. William Clark, a sharp Bag Enderby boy, only two years Alfred's senior, was then called upon to act as tutor, and having a special aptitude for mathematics, he succeeded in the task. As for Cadney, misfortune appears to have dogged his steps. He was turned out of his cottage in the Glen because the boys in his charge disturbed the game, such as there was; and eventually the schoolmaster ended his days in Spilsby Union-house at Hundleby, at the age of eighty-four. William Clark, the "boy-schoolmaster," is still living at Tetford, near Somersby; and it is interesting to relate that his brother Charles was for some time employed at the Hall at Gantby, which was often regarded as the original of Dickens's "Bleak House." house, its former distinction only signified by the Scripture text on the walls, 'Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth.' There are also two brooks in this valley, which flow into one at the bottom of the glebe field, and by these the young poet used to wander and meditate." I have given a full description of these scenes as they present themselves in later times, and subsequently other "localizers" have done the same. Some interesting facts about Cadney's school were published in the Pall Mall Gazette of June 19, 1890. Previously the history of that interesting place was very obscure. 1 See "In Tennyson Land," pp. 35-37. It can easily be understood that during the interval between their leaving Louth Grammar School and entering College, very little restraint was exercised over Dr Tennyson's sons. They were sturdy, spirited lads, and appear to have been left to their own devices. We can imagine them wandering about the Lincolnshire Uplands, taking long journeys across the wolds, exploring knoll and copse, and occasionally walking as far as the sea. Now and then they visited Boston, where a relative lived, and in the summer they spent a few days at Mablethorpe in the "lowly" white cottage, whence they could see Stretch'd wide and wild the waste enormous marsh, Where from the frequent bridge, Like emblems of infinity, The trenched waters run from sky to sky. All these scenes were knowledge and inspiration to the young poets, nor was it long before their thoughts found expression. It was Charles Tennyson who declared how good were all things in the poet's eyes, and who, while still a youth, felt that he and his kin were marked off from the In his exquisite Book of Sonnets we common race. read : No trace is left upon the vulgar mind By shapes which form upon the poet's thought The love of Lincolnshire was deeply rooted in the hearts of these poets, and in truth there is no wonder that it should be. For Somersby is an enchanted spot, bright, luxurious, and beautiful. Wooded hills rise before it and lie behind it; a merry brook gleams in the glen, and "swerves to left and right through meadowy curves," as it draws Into [its] narrow earthen urn, In every elbow and turn, The filter'd tribute of the rough woodland. All the air is melodious with the songs of birds-the rapturous lark, the trilling linnet, the joyous thrush, and the wrangling daw; and the long lonely lanes, like avenues, are cool and shady, and odorous with many flowers. How all these scenes and sounds influenced the mind of Alfred Tennyson, and suggested to him story and song has already been told. "What oftenest he viewed He viewed with the first glory," as every poet has done; and like a necromancer he has ever caused to pass before our eyes the lovely tints and golden hues of a glorious vanished past It was during this somewhat unsettled and aimless period that Alfred and Charles Tennyson composed those poems which were afterwards to be published as the work of "Two Brothers." There may be some truth in the curious story related to me that publication was decided upon in order that a little money might be obtained to enable the boys to carry out a long-cherished project of visiting the Lincolnshire churches. Suffice it that a selection of the compositions was made and taken to Jackson of Louth, who sometimes risked the printing of books. The Tennysons would be acquainted with Mr Jackson, or would know him well by repute, on account of their occasional visits to Louth, and they could scarcely fail to remark his superior establishment in the centre of the town. Mrs Tennyson and her sons had resided for some time in Harvey's Alley, now known as Westgate Place, the little domicile being situated close to the church in which the Rev. Stephen 1 Frederick Tennyson was responsible for one poem, The Oak of the North. Fytche preached. Alfred and Charles Tennyson found Mr Jackson kind-hearted and sympathetic. Not only did he arrange to bring out the poems in book form, but he offered them £10 for the copyright. To this the boys agreed, but, with the confidence of youth, afterwards informed the publisher that £10 was "none too high a price," whereupon that excellent person considerately doubled it. Twenty pounds was the sum actually received by the two lads for their poems. Already, therefore, they had proved the falseness of that disastrous prophecy of their uncle, who, on giving Alfred a half-sovereign for some verses, declared that that was the last money he would ever receive for a like reason. The original manuscript of this interesting work was sold for £480 last December (1892). The Poems by Two Brothers made their appearance in a small drab volume, priced at seven and sixpence, in 1827. The "copy" had been put into the printer's hands early in the year, so that Alfred was only seventeen when the last of his contributions to the pages was made. It was originally intended that the two brothers' initials, " C. T." and "A. T.,” should appear upon the title-page; but while the work was passing through the press the authors changed their minds, and told Mr Jackson that this was no part of the agreement, and would "not assist the sale of the book any more than if there was no signature at all." Thus it happened that when the book appeared there was no indication of who the two intrepid poets were. "Hæc nos novimus esse nihil" was the motto modestly chosen by the brothers for their first work; and their "Advertisement" was written in the same vein. "The following poems," the public were informed, "were written from the ages of fifteen to eighteen, not conjointly, but individually, which may account for their difference of style and matter. To light upon any novel combination of images, or to open any vein of sparkling thought untouched before, were no easy task; indeed, the remark itself is as old as the truth is clear; and, no doubt, if sub |