tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6004423696675838467.post3732786146647920534..comments2024-03-14T02:24:22.876-07:00Comments on Essay Daily: Talk About the Essay: 12/3: Patrick Madden's Beneficial Encounter with an Obscure Christmastime EssayUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6004423696675838467.post-8742351197157461652015-01-26T07:37:16.181-08:002015-01-26T07:37:16.181-08:00Margaret Fuller has a brief Christmas essay here: ...Margaret Fuller has a brief Christmas essay here: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/39037/39037-h/39037-h.htm#page_250Patrick Maddenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05358157802504449069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6004423696675838467.post-53365044582035465942014-12-04T07:41:41.583-08:002014-12-04T07:41:41.583-08:00Here, for instance, are the Every-day Book's D...Here, for instance, are the Every-day Book's December entries, a precursor to this very Essay Daily Advent Calendar, I would say! http://www.honearchive.org/etexts/edb/indices/index.html#decPatrick Maddenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05358157802504449069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6004423696675838467.post-24835329078861435672014-12-04T07:41:24.510-08:002014-12-04T07:41:24.510-08:00What do you think McDonald is saying, above? That ...What do you think McDonald is saying, above? That he's ultimately convinced that the essay IS Lamb (mostly or all)? Or that he's not even sure the Beadle passage was Lamb? What does "I feel more doubtful of that now" mean? What part does he doubt?<br /><br />BTW, "Hone" is William Hone, a 19th-C muckraker/writer who from 1826-1829 published a series of books--Every-day Book, Table Book, and Year Book--with daily entries. I found a combined volume of the first two with the subtitle "or, Everlasting calendar of popular amusements, sports, pastimes, ceremonies, manners, customs, and events, incident to each of the three hundred and sixty-five days, in past and present times; forming a complete history of the year, months, and seasons, and a perpetual key to the almanac ... for daily use and diversion," which sounds delightful. Apparently he had Lamb's assistance with the endeavor.Patrick Maddenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05358157802504449069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6004423696675838467.post-22071832171593682552014-12-03T13:10:11.633-08:002014-12-03T13:10:11.633-08:00Fascinating. I remember when I found it thinking ...Fascinating. I remember when I found it thinking that it didn't quite sound like Lamb, but, you know, the Internet said it was his. I was even more skeptical when you said you were unfamiliar with it. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03386452340967469218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6004423696675838467.post-42660471408158654302014-12-03T11:39:51.489-08:002014-12-03T11:39:51.489-08:00The plot thickens: William McDonald, the editor of...The plot thickens: William McDonald, the editor of The Works of Charles Lamb (vol. IV, 1903), wrote in a note to the essay, "When I decided to include ["A Few Words on Christmas"], I was of the opinion that though the entire article could hardly be by Lamb (I take it to be Hood's), yet Lamb had a hand in it, and that the description of the Beadle, which stands out markedly from every other part of the article, was most probably his. I feel more doubtful of that now. All we know is that Lamb sent a little contribution to Hone, the one object of which was to have this passage about the Beadle transferred (by way of quotation) to the pages of the "Every Day Book." I will therefore quote here the little contribution entire, with its bright imbedded quotation, and its picture; these appeared in the "Every Day Book" for January 28, 1826."<br /><br />"Hood" is Thomas Hood, a "sub-editor" of London Magazine and a minor poet.<br /><br />Here is the "Every Day Book" from January 28, 1826:<br />http://www.honearchive.org/etexts/edb/day-pages/393-jan28.html<br /><br />Meanwhile, I gotta get back to work. I look forward to picking up this trail of clues later, and I welcome other loupes to help in the investigation.Patrick Maddenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05358157802504449069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6004423696675838467.post-69723500860972098882014-12-03T10:35:44.858-08:002014-12-03T10:35:44.858-08:00William: Right you are! And how (unsurprisingly) s...William: Right you are! And how (unsurprisingly) shameful of me to forget that we discussed this years ago. Here's that Lamb essay: http://grammar.about.com/od/classicessays/a/A-Few-Words-On-Christmas-By-Charles-Lamb.htm It doesn't appear in his two main books (Essays of Elia and Last Essays of Elia), nor is it in my 1869 compilation Elia and Eliana. But it does appear in Essays and Sketches (1859), with the caveat that it is "presumptively the work of Lamb, but the fact of his authorship cannot yet be taken as fully established."<br /><br />But thanks for reminding me. I'm tempted to revise the note above, but I should leave the mistake for posterity.<br /><br />And Andrew: Thanks for that new essay. Here it is: http://www.unz.org/Pub/Harpers-1884dec-00003 I look forward to reading it.Patrick Maddenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05358157802504449069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6004423696675838467.post-10712359708155187892014-12-03T08:01:37.995-08:002014-12-03T08:01:37.995-08:00Charles Dudley Warner wrote an essay "Christm...Charles Dudley Warner wrote an essay "Christmas Past." It is in Harper's December 1884. It is more of a review of Christmas traditions in England. If you do not have access to it, let me know and I'll email you a copy. Andrew PetersenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6004423696675838467.post-9155708614921570152014-12-03T07:39:50.571-08:002014-12-03T07:39:50.571-08:00I definitely plan to check this essay out-- it sou...I definitely plan to check this essay out-- it sounds great. But doesn't Charles Lamb have a Christmas essay? "A Few Words on Christmas?" I remember I stumbled upon it online a few years ago, and I feel like I remember you and I discussing it briefly on Facebook. But now I'm wondering if the essay was misattributed to him? Or if I imagined a Facebook conversation with you.<br /><br />Regardless, Essay Daily Advent is my favorite time of year. And I always appreciate the opportunity to read your work, Patrick.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03386452340967469218noreply@blogger.com