Record Number: 20732
Reading Experience:
Evidence:
'Herewith you receive the rest of Henley�s hospital work. He was much pleased by what you said of him, and asked me to forward these to you for your opinion; the pencil marks are principally Payne�s. One poem at least, the �Spring Sorrow�, which seems to me the most beautiful, I hope you will communicate to Madame. I thank God for this [italics]petit bout de consolation[end italics], that by Henley�s own account, this one more lovely thing in the world is not altogether without some trace of my influence: let me say that I have been something sympathetic which the mother found and contemplated while she yet carried it in her womb. This, in my profound discouragement, is a great thing for me; if I cannot do good work myself, at least, it seems, I can help others better inspired; I am at least a skilful accoucheur.'
Century:1850-1899
Date:Between Feb 1875 and 19 Jul 1875
Country:Scotland
Timen/a
Place:city: Edinburgh
county: Lothian
(Reader):
silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown
(Listener):
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown
Reader / Listener / Reading Group:
Reader: Age:Adult (18-100+)
Gender:Male
Date of Birth:13 Nov 1850
Socio-Economic Group:Professional / academic / merchant / farmer
Occupation:Writer (he has now passed his law exams and can devote himself to writing).
Religion:Uncommitted
Country of Origin:Scotland
Country of Experience:Scotland
Listeners present if any:e.g family, servants, friends
n/a
Additional Comments:
n/a
Text Being Read:
Author: Title:[second series of] Hospital Poems
Genre:Poetry, Arts / architecture
Form of Text:Manuscript: Unknown
Publication DetailsSee 11, Additional Comments.
Provenanceborrowed (private library)
Entrusted to RLS for his good offices re possible publication.
Source Information:
Record ID:20732
Source:Robert Louis Stevenson
Editor:Bradford A. Booth
Title:The Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson, April 1874-July 1879
Place of Publication:New Haven and London
Date of Publication:1994
Vol:2
Page:150, 152
Additional Comments:
Letter 406, To Sidney Colvin, [c. 19 July 1875], [Swanston]. Co-editor Ernest Mehew. The material in square brackets has been added by the editors.
Citation:
Robert Louis Stevenson, Bradford A. Booth (ed.), The Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson, April 1874-July 1879, (New Haven and London, 1994), 2, p. 150, 152, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=20732, accessed: 04 February 2026
Additional Comments:
On p.150, the Editors� Note 1 reads: �The MS of the second series of Henley�s Hospital Poems was among Colvin�s papers at the time of his death [which took place in 1927]. According to Anderson, 7 May 1928 (214),� [this reference does not seem to tally with the dates of the �Anderson I-III� item in the Short Titles part of the Sources list of the Booth-Mehew edition of the Correspondence] � it contains eighteen poems, only nine of which have been published. �Spring Sorrow� eventually became �pastoral�(No. XXII in the �In Hospital� section of "A Book of Verses", 1888.�
