Castleford, <1>
Nov. 18th 1816.
My Dear Mamma,
I send you a Charade, I forget whether I ever gave you the subject before - at any rate the words are new - I am in the greatest anxiety for a fair day Tomorrow, to see the Eclipse - I hope my sisters may see it, to recompense them, for not seeing the Eclipse in Town last summer - I am sorry I am not to go Home before Xmas -
Yr Affte Son -
W. H. F. Talbot
The Lady Elisth Feilding
31 Sackville Street
London
Ferrybridge 174 <3>
Charade
My first, a youth of flowing spirits,
To do him justice, has his merits;
In moments dull, & weather dreary,
He cheers the sad, & rests the weary -
And yet withal his faults are many,
Tho' some may call them few, if any -
His temper, seldom quite at ease,
Is ruffled by each passing breeze;
Weak & unsteady, in progression
It yields to every new impression;
While trifles light float uppermost,
More weighty things are sunk & lost -
My second, if more solid parts,
Contemns his brother's pliant arts -
Of temper cool, serene, & even,
Yet firmer ne'er to man was given,
'Tis he can Fortune's frowns defy,
Can passive view her lightnings fly,
Can set at nought Affliction's power,
And face unmov'd the stormiest hour -
Yet, strange to tell! Metá-physicians
Affirm these different dispositions,
Wide as is now their separation,
Arose alone from Education -
Declaring that if thus my First
Had early been by Sorrows nurst,
Affliction's child - Then his had been
The temper firm & tranquil mien,
And vice-versa, if his brother
Had had good fortune for his mother,
Had o'er him each returning day
In cloudless sunshine roll'd away';
To him in turn would have ensued
My first's weak form, & changeful mood -
Ye, whomsoe'er it may concern,
Now from this timely notice learn,
If in my First, & on my Second,
'Tis well, if you don't break your neck on't -
My whole, sworn enemy to phthisic,
And sweetest source of purest physic,
Immortal glory doth redound
To Pomfret, & the country round -<4>
Notes:
1. Castleford, Yorkshire, 10 mi SE of Leeds, where WHFT went to school from 1815-1816.
2. Rear Admiral Charles Feilding (1780-1837), Royal Navy; WHFT's step-father.
3. Printed.
4. The answer to the charade seems to be liquorice (liquor + ice), a specialty of the Pomfret/Pontefract area.