Ashley MS 1895

'Poems and Ballads Second Series'. 'Dedication'; [1878]. Draft of stanzas 1-3, written in blue ink on one side only of one of two leaves of octavo mourning paper, formed by folding a quarto sheet of white laid paper. Watermark 'J Allen & Sons / Super Fine'. The revisions made in the draft are in the same blue ink, except in the substitution of 'which' for 'that' in stanza 2, l. 3, and of 'your' for 'thy' in stanza 3, l. 4, where black ink is used. The final text of the draft differs by one word only from that printed on p. 239 of the first edition. At the head of the page the pencil note 'To Burton P. & B. II' has been added by another hand. f. 8a.

Also included in 1895 are:―

a. Autograph list of the contents of Poems and Ballads Second Series, written on both sides of the leaf which forms one sheet with the leaf used for 'Dedication'; [1878]. A first list was made in the same blue ink as used for 'Dedication'. Of the poems printed in Poems and Ballads Second Series, 'For the Feast of Giordano Bruno', 'Cyril Tourneur', 'Song', 'Victor Hugo in 1877' and 'Dedication' are omitted from this list. 'Child's Song' appears as 'Love & Gold', while 'Translations from the French of Villon', of which there are ten in Poems and Ballads Second Series, appear as 'From Villon (6 or 8)'. Numbers in black ink were then placed opposite the titles to change their order, 'For the Feast of Giordano Bruno', 'Cyril Tourneur' and 'Dedication' were added, revisions were made, also in black ink, and finally all on one side (f. 9b) of the leaf was cancelled as was 'Before Sunset' on the other side. Neither order corresponds with that found in Poems and Ballads Second Series. ff. 9, 9b.

b. Abusive epigrams on the subject of the first Earl of Lytton. As follows:―(i) 'Little Lytton, little Lytton, / What a chair is here to sit on', [1876]. Fair copy, written on one side only of an octavo leaf of white laid paper. Watermark '[ ]ginal / [ ]ey Mill / [ ]ent'. See also C. Y. Lang, Swinburne Letters, iii, 1960, p. 220. f. 1a; (ii) 'Little Lytton, little Lytton, / Swift on Whiston and on Ditton', [1876?]. Fair copy, written on one side only of an octavo leaf of white laid paper. Watermark 'St Mar[ ] / Supe[ ]'. The metre and rhyme scheme are the same as in (i). f. 2a; (iii) 'Little Lytton, little Lytton, / With your Muse in muff & mitten', [1873?] (see C. Y. Lang, op. cit., iii, 1960, p. 220). Fair copy, written on one side only of an octavo leaf of white laid paper. Watermark 'Joy[ ] / First[ ]' The same side is also occupied by (iv) 'His little Muse a little poet fed / With sourish milk & crumbs of stalish bread', [1873?]. Fair copy, with one revision. f. 3a; (v) Two lines of verse 'The collapse of a family who can express / From Bulwer the Bigger to Lytton the Less?', written on one side only of a large octavo leaf of flimsy white laid paper. No watermark. f. 4a; (vi) 'Booby Byron sat on a wall: / Booby Byron had a great fall:', [1886]. Fair copy, written on one side only (f. 5b) of one of two octavo leaves, formed by folding a quarto sheet of white laid paper. Watermark 'Joynson / Superfine'. The recto of the same leaf and the verso of the other are occupied by a letter, [1886], to Swinburne from the acting editor of the Pall Mall Gazette, soliciting his views on the teaching of English Literature at the Universities. ff. 5, 5b, 6b; (vii) Three lines of verse referring to Robert Buchanan and Lord Lytton, written on one side only (f. 7a) of a fragment of white laid paper, [1880-1881?]. No watermark. The fragment has been torn from the foot of a folio leaf containing on both sides part of the draft of Swinburne's article 'Tennyson and Musset', first printed in the Fortnightly Review for Feb. 1881. In a letter to Benjamin Buisson dated 2 Dec. 1880 Swinburne says 'Je suis en train de faire un petit travail sur les poésies nouvelles de M. Tennyson'. ff. 7, 7b; (viii) 'Not higher upheld by props whose height deceives / The Briareus of bardlings & of thieves', 1878. Draft, written on one side only of two octavo leaves which together form a quarto sheet of white laid paper. Watermark 'J Allen & Sons / Super Fine'. One leaf is also occupied by article (a), while the recto of the other was used for 'Dedication' itself. ff. 8b, 9a.

Octavo; ff. i+9.

Algernon Charles Swinburne, poet: Edward Robert Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton: Abusive epigrams by Algernon Charles Swinburne rel. to Edward Robert Lytton Bulwer-Lytton: [1873-1886?]: Autogr. fair copies.

includes:

• f. 8a Poetry ENGLISH: Algernon Charles Swinburne, poet: Poem, 'Dedication', stanzas 1-3, by Algernon Charles Swinburne: 1878: Autogr. draft.
• ff. 9, 9b Algernon Charles Swinburne, poet: List of the contents of 'Poems and Ballads Second Series' by Algernon Charles Swinburne: 1878: Autogr. draft.