Add MS 45298 B

WILLIAM MORRIS LITERARY MANUSCRIPTS. Vol. II (ff. 51). A quarto exercise-book containing copies in the hand of Jane Morris of a number of Morris's shorter poems. The originals of most of these can be found in 45298 A, to which references are given. These copies appear to have been used by May Morris for the texts of those poems she printed in C.W., vol. xxiv, and Morris, vol. i. The contents are:-(1) Poem, beg. 'Peace for the joy abiding'. f. 1b;-(2) Poem printed as 'Our Hands have Met' in C.W., xxiv, p. 365, except for the last line where the printed text follows the alternative version in 45298 A, f. 98. ff. 2-2b;-(3) Poem printed as '0 Far Away to Seek' in C.W., xxiv, p. 364. (Cf. 45298 A, f. 103.) f. 3;-(4) 'Fair Weather and Foul' as printed in C.W., xxiv, p. 366. (Cf. 45298 A, f. 102.) ff. 4-4b;-(5) Poem, beg. 'Dead and gone is all desire'. f. 4b;-(6) 'Everlasting Spring', beg. '0 my love my darling, what is this men say'. (Cf. 45298 A, ff. 93-94.) ff. 5-5b;-

(7) Sonnet, 'Near but Far Away' (dated May 11th), as printed in Morris, i, pp. 538-539. (Cf. 45298 A, ff. 90-91.) f. 6;-(8) Sonnet printed as 'As this Thin Thread' in C.W., xxiv, p. 359. (Cf. 45258 A, ff. 87-87b.) f. 7;-(9) Poem, beg. 'Thy lips that I have touched no more may speak'. (Cf. 45298 A, f. 95.) f. 8;-(10) Sonnet printed as 'The Doomed Ship' in Morris, i, p. 539. (Cf. 45298 A, ff. 88-89.) f. 9;-(11) Sonnet printed as 'Rhyme Slayeth Shame' in C. W., xxiv, p. 357. (Cf. 45298 A, f. 86.) f. 10;-

(12) Sonnet printed as 'Sad-Eyed and Soft and Grey' in C.W., xxiv, p. 356, except for the last line where the alternative in 45298 A, f. 115, is followed. f. 11;-(13) 'Song', beg. ''Twas one little word that wrought it'. Printed C.W., xxiv, pp. 360-361. (Cf. 45298 A, f. 97.) ff. 12-13;-

(14) 'Three Chances and One Answer', beg. '0 love, if all the pleasures of the earth'. (Cf. 45298 A, f. 104.) f. 14;-(15) Sonnet, beg. 'Dear if God praise thee much for many a thing'. (Cf. 45298 A, f. 86.) f. 15;-(16) Poem, here apparently complete, printed as 'Why Dost Thou Struggle' in C.W., xxiv, pp. 362-363. The printed text follows the version in 45298 A, f. 100, which differs slightly from the present copy. ff. 16-17;-(17) 'The Mother under the Mould', as printed in C.W., xxiv, pp. 352-355. (Cf. 45318, f. 89.) ff. 18-22;-(18) Unfinished poem, beg. 'Why sit ye here in the spinning-room', used in a slightly differing form in The Roots Of The Mountains (C.W., xv, pp. 89-90). This copy follows the draft in 45328, f. 58. ff. 23-24;-(19) 'State aided Emigration. 1889', printed as 'State- Aided Emigration in 889' in Morris, i, pp. 466-467. (Cf. 45298 A, f. 123.) ff. 25-26;-(20) Poem, beg. 'Alone unhappy by the fire I sat'. (Cf. 45298 A, f. 99.) ff. 27-29;-(21) Two narrative stanzas in rhyme royal of the type used in The Earthly Paradise, beg. 'Such words the summer air swept past his ears'. (Cf. 45298 A, f. 113.) f. 30;-(22) Lyrics from The Story of Orpheus and Eurydice which was intended for The Earthly Paradise, but never published by Morris. Most of the lyrics are printed in the text of the poem in C.W., vol. xxiv. For MSS. of The Story of Orpheus and Eurydice, see 45307, 45308. The lyrics are as follows:-(a) 'While agone my words had wings' (C.W., xxiv, pp. 251-253). ff. 31-32;-(b) '0 ye, who sit alone, and bend above the earth' (C.W., xxiv, pp. 253-254). ff. 33-34;-(c) 'Once a white house there was' (C.W., xxiv, pp. 255-257). The printed version has '0 me' for 'Once' in the first line. ff. 35-38;-

(d) '0 if ye laugh, then am I grown' (C.W., xxiv, pp. 258-260). ff. 39-41;-

(e) '0 my love how could it be' (C.W., xxiv, p. 273). ff. 42-43;-(f) '0 Love, how the dying year' (C.W., xxiv, pp. 275-276). ff. 44-46;-(g) '0 Love, love, love, folk told me thou wert dead' (Morris, i, pp. 534-535). ff. 47-48;-(h) '0 hollow image of the very death!' (Morris, i, pp. 535-536). ff. 49-49b;-(23) Fragment beg. 'They have no song, the sedges dry'. f. 50;-(24) Three lines beg. 'Peevish and weak and fretful do I pray'. f. 51 (cf. 45298 A, f. 86b), followed by a sonnet beg. 'The world perchance to mock and jest would turn'. ff. 51 - 51b.

Jane Morris, wife of William Morris: Works of her husband, copied by: n.d.

Art. Illuminations and Drawings ENGLISH: W. Morris; marginal sketches, etc.: late 19th cent.

Poetry ENGLISH: W. Morris: poems: circ. 1853-1896.: Autogr. and copies.