vain. I thought
I had done with new Likings: and I had a more easy Life perhaps on that
account: _now_ I shall often think of you with uneasiness, for the very
reason that I had so much Liking and Interest for you."

CHAPTER I
THE MEETING

The biography of a hero written by his valet would be interesting, and,
according to proverbial wisdom, unbiased by the heroic repute of its
subject. But it would be artificial for all that. Even though the hero
be no hero to his valet, the valet is fully aware of his master's fame;
indeed, the man will be so inconsistent as to pride himself, and take
pleasure in, those qualities of his master, the existence of which he
would be the first to deny.

Where, however, a literary genius condescends to an intimacy with a
simple son of sea and shore who is not only practically illiterate but is
entirely ignorant of his patron's prowess, the opinions of the illiterate
concerning the personal characteristics of the genius obtain a very
remarkable value as being honest criticism by man of man, uninfluenced by
the spirit either of disingenuous adulation or of equally disingenuous
depreciation. That these opinions are in the eyes of a disciple of the
great man quaint, almost insolently crude is a matter of course. But
when they tend to show the master not only great in letters but great in
heart, soul, human kindness, and generosity, they form, perhaps, the most
notable tribute to a great personality.

{Cottage at corner of Boulge Park, where FitzGerald lived for many years:
p30.jpg}

With the exception of Charles Lamb, no man's letters have endeared his
memory to so many readers as have the letters of Edward FitzGerald. But
FitzGerald's friends (to whom most of the letters hitherto published were
addressed) were cultured gentlemen, men of the first rank of the time, of
the first rank of all time, men who would necessarily be swayed by the
charm of his culture, by the delicacy of his wit, by the refinement of
his thoughts.

In the case of "Posh," however (that typical Lowestoft fisherman who
supplied "Fitz" with a period of exaltation which was as extraordinary as
it was self-revealing), there were no extraneous influences at work. Posh
knew the man as a good-hearted friend, a man of jealous affection, as a
free-handed business partner, as a lover of the sea. He neither knew nor
cared that his partner (he would not admit that "patron" would be the
better word!) was the au