Letter from Edward Thomas to the poet Gordon Bottomley. Sent from Berryfield Cottage, Ashford, Petersfield, Hampshire. Archival ref: 424/1/1/1/10/76
9.xii.06

My dear Gordon, Thank you very
much for the songs. I shall use
"Somer is icuinen in". It seems
to be quite excusable. And I will add
Masefield's version *, but must

[[* marginalia in pencil "This refers to "Spanish Ladies", not "Somer is icumen in" G. B.]

retain that in the minor Cecil Sharp
(who knows) says no old sailor
would sing the major time that
Masefield gives, & it was he who
gave me the version I am using. It
is not obvious but I have learned to
like it well. 'All round my hat' is
obviously from B. Gould, because verse
3 is almost entirely the work of his
collaborator (Fleetwood Sheppard): so
he must have his guinea.
As soon as I had had your letter I
wrote to Rathbone on the subjects you
mentioned. I do hope it won't mean
a lot of work for him & the disfigurement
of the M. S. because it all ought to reach
Grant Richards on the 20th & I want
my money very badly. I believe the
printers will put the 'idiom' right. About
'la fille du Roi' - if you really do
like my version will you send it to Rathbone
& I will use it? Please
By the way, I have lately enjoyed
some scores of little poems by Father
Tabb. They are exquisite epigrams
nearly all - Mrs. Maynell's selection - &
I have asked for his leave to print one
(on Silence) but have not got it yet.
I send you William Davies' new book &
should be most grateful if you would
BERRYFIELD COTTAGE
ASHFORD
PETERSFIELD

tell me what favourable things can be
said about it. It is (as I knew all
along) far below the first book, &
yet I find some beautiful things in it.
I am troubled to think that the book will
be neglected or slighted in reviews
and almost certainly not very widely
sold - because I dared not discourage
Davies by telling him boldly what I thought.
He is pretty well & contented, but the
reception of this book will very likely upset
him. He has no idea of proportion;
nor can he ever understand the Press.
Yes, to the Poetry first & then
think about the Painting afterwards if you
like. As a matter of fact I shall probably
be able to give you plenty of time; &
yet the sooner I have all my copy in
hand the better. I see your difficulty. I knew
but did not realise at the time I wrote
how painting had not gone
on parallel lines with poetry. I am so
busy now that I can hardly make any kind
of suggestion about the Poetry. - Freeman
by the way probably will say something
about the Musical aspect. - You had
better visit a little yet again in the
commonplace about the importance of
Nature in all great English poetry, &,
if you can, indicate the development of
our kind of feeling for Nature after the
old merry acquaintanceship &
companionship. Oh, no, I am

too much muddled events wrote a Chronicle
article on it. - I hope you did
not see my article in Blake's job etc last
week. Milne, having to work in some
pictures, cut out the last ⅓ of my
article & with it noting what was best
but also all reference to Job. I wrote to
Binzen to apologize.
I have 3 jolly unpublished sailors'
songs for the Anthology: also 2 little known
songs from 'The Compleat Angler' one by
It. Lawes the other 18th century: a
noble one which I fitted to Peacock's
"3 men of Gotham': also Brownings
'Kentish Sit Byng' fitted (by me)
to Llliburlero, - rather monotonous
in the opening: & the famous
medieval 'Meun est propositum'
fitted to the blithest of Welsh tunes:
& the 3 or 4 songs from Westmoreland.
These are the (almost) certainly new
things. I do want them to be correctly
printed. But in my endeavors to keep
clear of what Lucas & other open air
anthologists have used I daresay my
poetry is not all good & not all
popular enough & I shall not make
£1500 out of it as Lucas did out of his
genial 'Open Road" anthology.
How funny of Rathbone to
buy my Guinea Book. It must seem
a lot of money.
Merfyn is now going to school -
is a much happier boy, but I am
not always patient of his petulance &
inverletrateness & his rather large
& curious head, though (I should be
not merely parodixical if I said - because
he is very much like me.
Goodby. Our love to you both.
Ever yours
Edward thomas