ery noble
indeed) and study (from Main's note) the lame and fumbling
changes made in various editions of the early lines, which
remain lame in the end. Far worse than this, study the
relation of the closing lines of his famous sonnet _The
World is too much with us_, etc., to a passage in Spenser,
and say whether plagiarism was ever more impudent or
manifest (again I derive from Main's excellent exposition of
the point), and then consider whether a bard was likely to
do this once and yet not to do it often. Primary vital
impulse was surely not fully developed in his muse.

I will venture to say that I wish my sister's sonnet work
had met with what I consider the justice due to it. Besides
the unsurpassed quality (in my opinion) of her best sonnets,
my sister has proved her poetic importance by solid and
noble inventive work of many kinds, which I should be proud
indeed to reckon among my life's claims.

I have a great weakness myself for many of Tennyson-Turner's
sonnets, though of course what Mr. Noble says of them is in
the main true, and he has certainly quoted the very finest
one, which has a more fervent appeal for me than I could
easily derive from Wordsworth in almost any case.

Will you give my thanks to Mr. Noble for his frank and
outspoken praise?

Let me hear of your doings and intentions.

Ever sincerely yours.

Three names notably omitted in the article are those of Dobell, W. B.
Scott, and Swinburne.

The allusion in the foregoing letter to the work on the Sonnet which
I was aiming to supply, bears reference to the anthology subsequently
published under the title of _Sonnets of Three Centuries_. My first
idea was simply to write a survey of the art and history of the
sonnet, printing only such examples as might be embraced by my critical
comments. Rossetti's generous sympathy was warmly engaged in this
enterprise.

It would really warm me up much [he writes] to know of
_your_ editing a sonnet book You would have my best
cooperation as to suggesting examples, but I certainly think
that English sonnets (original and exceptionally translated
ones, the latter only _perhaps_) should be the sole scheme.
Curiously enough, some one wrote me the other day as to a
projected series of living sonneteers (other collections
being only of those