SIR LEWIS MORRIS - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 12/5 - HFSID 73542

SIR LEWIS MORRIS
Handwritten letter to a magazine editor, concerning their pending meeting in London
Autograph Letter signed: "Lewis Morris", 2 pages (integral leaf), 5x8. Penbryn, Carmarthen [Wales, U.K.], December 5, no year. To "My dear Knowles", in full: "I thank you for your telegram. It was very kind of you to bear me in mind. The Post Office people here only sent it in early this morning & I replied to it when half asleep. On second thought I will leave this - rhododendron & all - by the mail train this evening, either sleeping at Chester or coming right through & shall therefore be at the reform at 1 o'clock. When I do not see you or hear from you to the contrary I will call at Queen Anne's Lodge. The time is short, & in these days of Saintsburys and Saturday Reviews, long dead but still unburied as melodrama one must be on one's guard, and a day gained is something I have been mercifully spared. The necessity of paying court to the G. O. M. but I hear the crowds have been enormous. Ever yours sincerely". Sir Lewis Morris (1833-1907) was a poet of the Anglo-Welsh school. Born in South Wales, he studied at Jesus College in Oxford and graduated in 1956. The poet published several works including Songs of Two Worlds (1875), The Epic of Hades (1877), The Ode of Life (1880), Poetical Works (1882), Songs Unsung (1883), Gycia: A Tragedy in Five Acts (1886), Songs of Britain (1887), Harvest Tide: A Book of Verse (1900) and The New Rambler from Desk to Platform (1905). In 1895, Morris was knighted by Queen Victoria. The addressee was probably Sir James Knowles (1831-1908), editor of the Contemporary Review. "G. O. M." was a reference to William Gladstone, four times Prime Minister of Britain between 1968 and 1894.Among his supporters, G. O. M. stood for "Grand Old Man," although his archrival Benjamin Disraeli quipped that it stood for "God's Only Mistake." Toned. Multiple mailing folds. Otherwise, fine condition.