Ashley MS 1841

Poems and Ballads. 'The Two Dreams'; [1858?]. Quarto notebook, with ruled pages of white laid paper, unwatermarked, containing drafts, entitled 'The White Hind: from Boccaccio' (f. 1a), of two passages of the poem. 'The Two Dreams' is based on the Sixth Novella of the Fourth Day of Boccacio's Decameron, but departs from it considerably in spirit and in detail. In particular, the white hind and the black greyhound of the original are replaced by a mysterious demon lover in the text as printed on pp. 292-308 of the first edition. Lafourcade, op. cit., ii, p. 76, points this out as being also a difference between the MS. described here and the printed version, but it is difficult to be sure whether he had seen a passage relating to the white hind in this MS., or whether he had based his inferences on the title alone. Certainly, there is no evidence other than the title extant today. In any case, 'The White Hind' is by no means a translation of the Sixth Novella, and there seems no reason to suppose, as does Lafourcade, op. cit., ii, pp. 76 and 580, that it is necessarily earlier or closer to the original than the other draft, A1851 (12). Moreover, the text as found on ff. 1a, 2a, 3a, 2b, 3b and 4a in that order corresponds quite closely to lines 1-101 of 'The Two Dreams', and, despite the fact that many additions and revisions were made before the printed text, a large number of lines are identical. On f. 1b is an even earlier draft corresponding to lines 27-33. In the same way, the text on ff. 7, 7b corresponds to lines 359-367 and 382-397, and that on f. 6b contains, together with some lines discarded in 'The Two Dreams', an early draft of lines 368-371. On ff. 5-6 are 40 lines of a different poem, possibly part of 'The Taking of Loys Raimbault', mentioned by Lafourcade, op. cit., ii, p. 589, as being preserved in MS. in the Ashley Library, but now no longer traceable.

According to both Wise, Ashley Library Catalogue, vi, p. 42 and Lafourcade, op. cit., ii,

p. 76, the present MS. should have 13 folios. It now only has 7, of which

1-4 are a gathering of 4, 5 and 6 are a single sheet, and 7 a single folio. The MS. has, however, been paginated 1-13 at some time previous to its arrival in the British Museum, and this may have given rise to confusion.

A MS., Ashley 5254, containing translations by Swinburne from the Decameron, is watermarked 1858. In a letter to Lady Trevelyan, 19 Jan. 1861, Swinburne says 'I have done a lot of work since I saw you, Rossetti says some of my best pieces . . . also a long one out of Boccaccio, that was begun ages ago and let drop'. A probable date, therefore, for 'The White Hind' appears to be 1858.

Quarto; ff. i+7. The notebook has been rebound in brown paper wrappers.

includes:

• ff. 1-4, 6b-7b Poetry ENGLISH: Algernon Charles Swinburne, poet: Poem, 'The Two Dreams', here entitled 'The White Hind', by Algernon Charles Swinburne: [1858?]: Autogr. drafts.
• ff. 5-6 Poetry ENGLISH: Algernon Charles Swinburne, poet: Poem, ['The Taking of Loys Raimbault'?], by Algernon Charles Swinburne: [1858?]: Autogr. draft. Fragm.