Ashley MS A1939

'A Channel Passage and Other Poems' by A. C. Swinburne; [1876?]-before 1904

1. 'To a Baby Kinswoman'; [1894]. Draft, written on both sides of a large quarto leaf of blue wove paper. No watermark. The MS. is entitled 'To a Baby Kinswoman' in Swinburne's hand.

As follows: The poem is written in two columns on the recto, and in one on the verso. The left hand column on the recto contains ll. 1-34, the right hand column ll. 35-56, while ll. 57-84 are on the verso. Of l. 85 only the words 'Inly & c.' are found below l. 84, while ll. 86-88 are not found at all. Below 'Inly &c.' are the words 'Love, & c.', but ll. 89 and 90 are in fact at the foot of the recto, beside ll. 33 and 34. There is an arrow, later cancelled?, indicating a position for them following l. 34. The final version of l. 17, and of ll. 18-22, has been added later beside l. 16, the first version of l. 17, and ll. 23 and 24. The position of the new lines following l. 16 is indicated with an arrow. Lines 27 and 28 were also added later beside ll. 26 and 29, and their position shown with an arrow. The final text found in the draft differs, apart from the lack of ll. 85-88, by one word only from that printed on pp. 29-33 of the first edition.

In a letter to Mary Louisa Molesworth dated 25 May 1894 Swinburne says 'I have just written a little poem "to a baby kinswoman"' (C. Y. Lang, Swinburne Letters, vi, 1962, p. 67). The poem was first published in the Nineteenth Century for Dec. 1894. ff. 160, 160b.

2. 'Apostasy'; [1886?]. In a letter to Arthur Symons dated 12 Nov. 1900, Swinburne refers to 'a series of four sonnets, headed "Apostasy", which I dare say you never saw. It appeared, I think, in 1886, but in what paper I forget' (C. Y. Lang, Swinburne Letters, vi, 1962, p. 148). This publication, if it ever existed, has not been identified. As follows:―

a. Draft, written on both sides of a folio leaf of blue laid paper. Watermark J. Allen & Sons / Superfine / 1879'. The MS. is entitled 'Apostasy' in Swinburne's hand. The motto 'Et Judas m'a dit: Traître!' has been added by him later.

As follows:―Sonnet I, f. 161a; sonnets II and III, f. 161b; sonnet IV, squeezed in at the foot of f. 161a. The sonnets are numbered by Swinburne '1', '2', '3' and '4'. Beside sonnet III is an autograph list of rhyme words: 'raven craven haven shaven engraven'. The final text found in the draft differs by six words and half a line from that printed on pp. 126-129 of the first edition.

On f. 161b, written in the left hand margin with the lines parallel with the length of the paper, are the lines:

'A glorious commonweal

[The bright republic which] thy brain begot,

Plato[,] ― where Sodom was, and Song was not.'

ff. 161, 161b.

b. Fair copy, with revisions, of sonnets I and II, written on one side only of a large quarto leaf of blue wove paper. No watermark. The MS. has the title 'Apostasy' and the motto 'Et Judas m'a dit: Traitre! / Victor Hugo', both in Swinburne's hand. The sonnets have been numbered by him 'I' and 'II'. The final text found in the fair copy is identical with that printed on pp. 126 and 127 of the first edition. f. 162.

3. 'For Greece and Crete'; 1897. Draft, written on both sides of a large quarto leaf of blue wove paper. No watermark. The MS. is entitled 'For Greece and Crete.' in Swinburne's hand. Beside stanza 2 are the rhyme words 'peace cease', and following it are two discarded stanzas. The final text found in the draft differs by five words from that printed on pp. 136-138.

The poem was inspired by the dispatch of a Greek force to Crete in Feb. 1897. It was first published in the Nineteenth Century for March 1897. ff. 163, 163b.

4. 'Delphic Hymn to Apollo'; 1894 or earlier. Draft, written on both sides of a large quarto leaf of blue wove paper. No watermark. Part II is numbered '2' in Swinburne's hand. The final text found in the draft differs by three words from that printed on pp. 139-141. The poem was first published in the Nineteenth Century for Aug. 1894. ff. 164, 164b.

5. 'A New Century'; 1900. Fair copy, with revision of half l. 9, written on one side only of a large quarto leaf of blue wove paper. No watermark. The MS. is entitled '1901' in Swinburne's hand, and signed 'Dec. 22nd 1900. / Algernon Charles Swinburne.'. The final text found in the fair copy is identical with that printed on p. 142. The poem was first published in the Saturday Review for 5 Jan. 1901. f. 165.

6. 'A Roundel from Villon'; [1876?], (for a discussion of the dating of Swinburne's Villon translations see 1895, art. 9). Draft, written on one side only of an octavo leaf of white laid paper. Watermark 'Orig[ ] / Turke[ ] / ke[ ]'. The MS. is entitled 'Roundel from Villon' in Swinburne's hand.

The roundel is a translation of Villon's lay 'Mort, j'appelle de ta rigeur'. The metre and rhyme-scheme of the translation correspond exactly with those of the original. At the head of the page are a deleted version of l. 6, and a list of rhyme words 'wife strife life knife life'. The final text found in the draft differs by three words from that printed on p. 168.

On the verso are one line of verse 'Help one so poor, and suffer none the more?', the note 'stour = battle, contest', and a list of rhyme words ending in 'ower', together with two part lines. These are a draft of the refrain and of part of stanza 2 of Swinburne's translation of 'Ballade A S'Amye' by Villon. A draft of the greater part of the translation is A4433, ff. 44, 45. ff. 166, 166b.

7. 'A Roundel of Rabelais'; 1896 or earlier. Draft, written on one side only of an octavo leaf of cream wove paper. No watermark. The three stanzas are numbered in Swinburne's hand, and the position of ll. 3 and 4 is indicated by an arrow from their original place below l. 7. The final text found in the draft differs by two words from that printed on p. 169. The poem was first printed in The Pageant, 1896. f. 167.

8. 'A Clasp of Hands'; 1904 or earlier. Fair copy, with two revisions, written on one side only of two octavo leaves of flecked grey wove paper. Watermark monogram 'IS'. The MS. is entitled 'A Clasp of Hands', and the parts of the poem numbered, in Swinburne's hand. The leaves have been numbered '75' and '76' in red pencil by another hand, indicating that this MS. was used for printer's copy. The final text found in the fair copy is identical with that printed on pp. 177-179. ff. 168, 169.

9. 'Dedication'; [1898?]. Fair copy, heavily revised, written on one side only of four large quarto leaves of blue wove paper. No watermark. The MS. is entitled 'Dedication. /1898.' in Swinburne's hand. At the head of the first side is the deleted note '(13 stanzas)', a copy of the last two lines of the poem, also deleted, the pencil number '57', and the pencil note '(At end of volume)', all in Swinburne's hand. Below '57' are the numbers '10' and '56' in another hand. 'Dedication' is the fifty-sixth and last poem in A Channel Passage and Other Poems. The leaves are numbered 1-4 by Swinburne, and 95-98 in red pencil by another hand, indicating that this MS. was used for printer's copy. The final text found in the fair copy is identical with that printed on pp. 207-213.

The poem is in memory of William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones. The former died in 1896 and the latter in 1898. ff. 170-173.

Poetry ENGLISH: Algernon Charles Swinburne, poet: A Channel Passage and Other Poems by Algernon Charles Swinburne: 1904: Autogr. drafts and fair copies of poems included in.

includes:

• ff. 160-160b Poetry ENGLISH: Algernon Charles Swinburne, poet: Poem, 'To a Baby Kinswoman', by Algernon Charles Swinburne: 1894: Autogr. draft.
• ff. 161-161b Poetry ENGLISH: Algernon Charles Swinburne, poet: Sonnets, 'Apostasy', by Algernon Charles Swinburne: [1886?]: Autogr. draft.
• f. 162 Poetry ENGLISH: Algernon Charles Swinburne, poet: Sonnets, 'Apostasy', by Algernon Charles Swinburne: [1886?]: Autogr. fair copy of sonnets I and II.
• ff. 163-163b Poetry ENGLISH: Algernon Charles Swinburne, poet: Poem, 'For Greece and Crete', by Algernon Charles Swinburne: 1897: Autogr. draft.
• ff. 164-164b Poetry ENGLISH: Algernon Charles Swinburne, poet: Poem, 'Delphic Hymn to Apollo', by Algernon Charles Swinburne: bef. 1894: Autogr. draft.
• f. 165 Poetry ENGLISH: Algernon Charles Swinburne, poet: Poem, 'A New Century', by Algernon Charles Swinburne: 1900: Autogr. fair copy, signed.
• ff. 166, 166b Poetry ENGLISH: Algernon Charles Swinburne, poet: Poem, 'A Roundel from Villon', by Algernon Charles Swinburne: [1876?]: Autogr. draft.
• ff. 166-166b Poetry ENGLISH: François Villon, poet: Poems of Villon, transl. by A. C. Swinburne of François Villon: [1867?]-[1876?].
• ff. 166-166b Poetry ENGLISH: Algernon Charles Swinburne, poet: Poem, 'Mort, j'appelle de ta rigeur', transl. from F. Villon by Algernon Charles Swinburne: [1876?]: Autogr. draft.
• f. 167 Poetry ENGLISH: Algernon Charles Swinburne, poet: Poem, 'A Roundel of Rabelais', by Algernon Charles Swinburne: bef. 1896: Autogr. draft.
• ff. 168-169 Poetry ENGLISH: Algernon Charles Swinburne, poet: Poem, 'A Clasp of Hands', by Algernon Charles Swinburne: bef. 1904: Autogr. fair copy.
• ff. 170-173 Poetry ENGLISH: Algernon Charles Swinburne, poet: Poem, 'Dedication', by Algernon Charles Swinburne: [1898?]: Autogr. fair copy.