English Hours

by Henry James

I mention these things as some of the light notes, but the picture is never too empty for a stronger one not to sound. The strongest, at Dunwich, is indeed one that, without in the least falsifying the scale, counts immensely for filling in. The palm in the rustic sports is for the bluejackets; as, in England, of course, nothing is easier than for the village green to alternate with the element that Britannia still more admirably rules. I had often dreamed that the ideal refuge for a man of letters was a cottage so placed on the coast as to be circled, as it were, by the protecting arm of the Admiralty. I remember to have heard it said in the old country—in New York and Boston—that the best place to live in is next to an engine-house, and it is on this analogy that, at Dunwich, I have looked for ministering peace in near neighbourhood to one of those stations of the coast-guard that, round all the edge of England, at short intervals, on rock and sand and heath, make, with shining whitewash and tar, clean as a great state is at least theoretically clean, each its own little image of the reach of the empire. It is in each case an image that, for one reason and another, you respond to with a sort of thrill; and the thing becomes as concrete as you can wish on your discovering in the three or four individual members of the simple staff of the establishment all sorts of educated decency and many sorts of beguilement to intercourse. Prime among the latter, in truth, is the great yarn-spinning gift. It differs from man to man, but here and there it glows like a cut ruby. May the last darkness close before I cease to care for sea-folk!—though this, I hasten to add, is not the private predilection at which, in these incoherent notes, I proposed most to glance. Let me have mentioned it merely as a sign that the fault is all my own if, this summer, the arm of the Admiralty has not, in the full measure of my theory, represented the protection under which the long literary morning may know—abyss of delusion!—nothing but itself.

Dunwich, August 31, 1879.

INDEX

• Abergavenny, [247].
• “Adam Bede,” locality of, [216], [217].
• Aldeburgh, birthplace of Crabbe, [323], [324].
• Apsley House, [20], [21].
• Arnold, Matthew, [24];
  • “The Sick King in Bokhara,” quoted, [29].
• Avon River, [90].
• Baillie, Joanna, [44].
• Banbury, [218].
• Becket, Thomas A’, his assassination at Canterbury, [149], [150];
  • his shrine, [150], [151].
• Belgravia, [15], [16]; in dog-days, [154].
• Blackheath, the Common, [168].
• Black Prince, the (see [Edward Plantagenet]).
• Blunderstone, [318], [319].
• Bonchurch, [253], [254].
• Brighton, [278];
  • gaiety of, [279].
• Broughton Castle, [219], [220].
• Browning, Robert, [51-59].
• Buckingham Palace, [21], [23].
• Bury St. Edmunds, [266];
  • ruined abbey at, [267].
• Cambridge University, famous chapel of King’s College, [264], [265].
• Cambridgeshire, Newmarket Heath, [265], [266];
  • shooting-boxes in, [266];
  • Bury St. Edmunds, [266], [267].
• Canterbury, [142];
  • the cathedral, [147-152];
  • King’s School, [148], [149];
  • where Becket was killed, [149], [150];
  • tomb of the Black Prince, [150];
  • Lady Chapel, [151];
  • the pilgrimage to, [151].
• Charing Cross, [7];
  • railway station, [42].
• Chatsworth, [87].
• Chaucer, his story-telling cavalcade, [151].
• Chelsea, [42], [43].
• Chester, ancient wall, [62-67];
  • cathedral, [66], [72-76];
  • the Rows, [67-72];
  • Anglican service, [73], [74];
  • Canon Kingsley, [73-75].
• Chichester, the cathedral, [257], [260];
  • an old market cross, [259].
• Clapham, a classic community, [178], [179].
• Climate, richness of London, [17].
• Compton Wyniates, [220].
• Coventry, charity foundations, [210], [212], [213].
• Crabbe, George, birthplace of, [323], [324].
• “Daniel Deronda,” recalled in Warwickshire, [202], [203].
• “David Copperfield,” [290];
  • retrospective pictures in, [65];
  • sleeps under a cannon at Chatham, [145];
  • his birthplace visited, [317], [318];
  • home of the Peggottys, [319].
• “Denis Duval,” locality of, [288-315].
• Devonshire, beauties of, [93], [94].
• Dickens, Charles, retrospective pictures in “David Copperfield,” [65];
  • his Gadshill house, [143];
  • recalled by talkative shopkeeper, [144];
  • background of “Oliver Twist” identified, [274];
  • birthplace of David visited, [317], [318].
• Doré, Gustave, his drawing suggested by Devon seacoast, [104].
• Dover, [142].
• Du Maurier, George, [19].
• Dunwich, a desolate seaport, [320-322];
  • ruins of, [322], [323];
  • FitzGerald’s tribute to quaintness of, [323];
  • the Priory, [326];
  • inroads of the sea, [326], [327];
  • rural merry-making, [327], [328].
• Edward Plantagenet, his tomb, [150];
  • “Fleur-de-Lis” inn named in honour of, [151];
  • in the sea-fight off Winchelsea, [310].
• Edward III, fights Spaniards off Winchelsea, [310], [311].
• Eliot, George, characters in “Daniel Deronda” suggested, [202], [203];
  • locality of “Adam Bede” and “Middlemarch,” [216], [217].
• England, its social discipline, [121], [122];
  • universal church-going, [123-125];
  • social usages, [125], [126];
  • Easter exodus from London, [126];
  • holiday spirit, [128], [129];
  • Passion Week, [130-138];
  • its people handsome, [136-138];
  • its poverty depressing, [137];
  • proletariat funeral, [138-141];
  • no public entertainments, [157-159];
  • prestige of, [170-173];
  • the Egyptian occupation, [172], [173];
  • Derby Day, [175-188];
  • the country the basis of society, [176];
  • a rural Sunday, [204], [205];
  • types of English beauty, [206-208];
  • rural scenery, [225-230];
  • an English New Year, [269-275];
  • watering-places in winter, [277-286].
• Epsom, Derby Day, [175-188].
• Exeter, the cathedral, [95-97].
• FitzGerald, Edward, tribute to Suffolk in his “Letters,” [323];
  • fond of Crabbe’s birthplace, [323], [324].
• Fletcher, John, born at Rye, [309].
• Fog, London, [32], [33], [35], [131], [272].
• Foster, Birket, [327].
• Gladstone, William Ewart, speech on Egyptian occupation, [173].
• Glastonbury, [115], [116];
  • ruined abbey of, [115-117].
• Green Park, [21-23].
• Greenwich, [43];
  • dining at, [161-163];
  • river excursion to, [164], [165];
  • observatory and park, [166].
• Grosvenor Place, [21].
• Haddon Hall, [83-87].
• Hampstead, [43], [44].
• Hastings, [277];
  • a little London, [278], [279];
  • inns and hotels, [280-284];
  • a quiet retreat, [285], [286].
• “Henry Esmond,” lines from, recalled, [5], [6];
  • its Kensington setting, [44].
• Hyde Park, [18];
  • the Row, [19], [20];
  • the Corner, [20-23], [46];
  • in dog-days, [153].
• Ilfracombe, [97-101].
• “Ingoldsby Legends,” an incident suggests, [5].
• Isle of Wight, detestable railways of, [251];
  • Ryde, [251];
  • Ventnor, [251-253];
  • Bonchurch, [253], [254];
  • Shanklin, [254].
• Johnson, Samuel, first glimpse of Temple Bar, [79];
  • birthplace, [78-83].
• Jones, Inigo, [167].
• Kenilworth, [198-201].
• Kensington Gardens, enchanting vista in, [18].
• Kingsley, Charles, discourse at Chester, [74], [75].
• Lichfield, Dr. Johnson’s birth-house, [78];
  • cathedral, [79-83];
  • Haddon Hall, [83-87];
  • Chatsworth, [87].
• Liverpool, first impression of, [2], [3], [5];
  • journey from, to London, [3-5].
• London, first impressions of, [1], [4], [7], [8];
  • St. Paul’s, [4];
  • Morley’s Hotel, [4], [5];
  • Temple Bar, [5];
  • Ludgate Hill, [6];
  • Strand, [6], [7];
  • Charing Cross, [7];
  • Piccadilly, [7], [8];
  • its immensity an advantage, [8-13];
  • creeds and coteries, [11];
  • home of human race, [13];
  • headquarters of English speech, [14];
  • absence of style, [15];
  • accident of style replaces intention, [16], [17];
  • parks, [16-25];
  • rural impressions, [18], [19];
  • rustic walk from Notting Hill to Whitehall, [18-25];
  • Hyde Park, [19-22];
  • Hyde Park Corner, [20];
  • Grosvenor Place 21;
  • Apsley House, [20], [21];
  • Green Park, [21-23];
  • Buckingham Palace, [21-23];
  • levelling tendencies of London life, [25-28];
  • beautiful women the great admiration, [28];
  • liberal hospitality, [29];
  • cultivation of the abrupt, [29], [30];
  • lights and shades, [31-36], [134];
  • holidays, [34];
  • railway stations, [37], [38];
  • bookstalls, [38], [39];
  • Thames River, [40-43];
  • Hampstead, [43], [44];
  • Kensington, [44];
  • the Season, [45-51];
  • Easter exodus, [126-128];
  • Passion Week, [130-138];
  • architectural ugliness, [133], [134];
  • people of the slums, [137];
  • proletariat funeral, [138-141];
  • the Tower, [142], [143];
  • dog-days in, [153-161];
  • no “public fund” of amusement, [157-159];
  • tramps, [160], [161];
  • convivial gatherings, [162-164].
• Ludgate Hill, [6].
• Ludlow, a charming old town, [240];
  • provincial society at, [241-243].
• Lynton, [102-104].
• Mayfair, mind of, residences of, [15], [16].
• “Middlemarch,” locality of, [216], [217].
• “Mill on the Floss,” retrospective pictures in, [65].
• Milton, John, [14].
• Monmouthshire, April in, [245], [246];
  • the Skirrid, [246], [247];
  • Abergavenny, [247];
  • a mediæval church, [247-249];
  • feudal manors, [249], [250].
• Newmarket Heath, [265], [266].
• Notting Hill, rustic walk to Whitehall, [18-25].
• North Devon, [93-105];
  • Exeter Cathedral, [95-97];
  • beauties of Ilfracombe, [97-101];
  • Lynton, [102-104];
  • Somerset, [104], [105].
• Odger, George, radical agitator, his funeral, [138-141].
• “Oliver Twist,” visit to a workhouse recalls, [274].
• Oxford, [41];
  • at Commemoration, [189-196];
  • typifies union of science and sense, [261];
  • Trinity College, [261-264].
• “Pall Mall Gazette,” [176].
• Pall Mall, [32], [33].
• Piccadilly, [7], [8], [14], [21];
  • funeral procession on, [130], [140];
  • the “White House,” [177].
• Portsmouth, untidy and prosaic, [255], [256];
  • Nelson’s “Victory,” [256], [257].
• “Punch,” [7].
• Queen Anne, statue of, [6].
• Rembrandt, pictures at Warwick Castle, [90].
• Rochester, the Dickens country, [143-145];
  • Watts’s shelter, [144];
  • the cathedral, [145-147].
• Ryde, [251].
• Rye, locality of “Denis Duval,” [288-315];
  • old shipyards, [304], [306];
  • old gardens, [304-306];
  • haunt of artists, [306-308];
  • birthplace of Fletcher, [309];
  • landscape beauties, [313-315];
  • Romney Marsh, [314].
• St. Leonards, [278], [285].
• St. Paul’s, cathedral of, [4].
• Salisbury, the cathedral, [117], [118];
  • Stonehenge, [118], [119];
  • Wilton House, [119], [120].
• Scott, Sir Walter, [290];
  • locality of “Woodstock,” [221], [222].
• Serpentine, bridge over, [17], [18].
• Shakespeare, William, [14];
  • Warwickshire his country, [88], [213], [214];
  • his clowns, [201];
  • Dame Quickly’s ale-house identified, [201];
  • a garden setting for his comedies, [216].
• Shanklin, [254].
• “Sir Roger de Coverley,” visualized at Porlock, [105].
• Skirrid, the, [246], [247].
• Somerset, [104], [105].
• Stokesay, [236];
  • the castle, [237-240].
• Stonehenge, [118], [119].
• Strand, first walk in, [6];
  • Exeter Hall, [6], [7].
• Stratford, [201];
  • ideal home for a scholar, [214];
  • a modern house in, [215].
• Suffolk, locality of “David Copperfield,” [317-319];
  • Dunwich, [320-330];
  • Aldeburgh, [323], [324];
  • Wesselton, [325], [326].
• Swinburne, Algernon Charles, [323].
• Temple Bar, [5];
  • Dr. Johnson’s first glimpse, [79].
• Thackeray, William Makepeace, locality of “Denis Duval,” [288-315];
  • “Lovel the Widower,” [288];
  • Adventures of Philip, [288];
  • “Henry Esmond,” [289];
  • “The Roundabout Papers,” [295], [296].
• Thames River, [15];
  • beauties of, [40-42];
  • penny steamboats on, [142], [164], [165].
• Vandyck, Anthony, pictures at Warwick Castle, [90], [91];
  • portraits at Wilton House, [119], [120].
• Ventnor, [251-253].
• Warwick, [89];
  • the castle, [89-91];
  • Leicester’s Hospital, [210-212].
• Warwickshire, [87], [88];
  • centre of English life, [197];
  • Kenilworth, [198-201];
  • an old rectory, [201-207];
  • a Sunday in, [204], [205];
  • pretty girls of, [207], [208];
  • conservatism of, [208-210];
  • charitable institutions, [210-213];
  • Stratford, [214], [215];
  • Broughton Castle, [219], [220];
  • Compton Wyniates, [220];
  • Wroxton Abbey, [222], [223].
• Wells, the cathedral, [107-112];
  • the close, [112];
  • Bishop’s Palace, [113], [114];
  • beautiful church of St. Cuthbert, [114];
  • Glastonbury Abbey, [115-117].
• Wesley, John, his last sermon at Winchelsea, [309].
• Wesselton, [325], [326].
• Westminster, impressive towers of, [18], [23].
• Westminster Abbey, Browning in, [51-59];
  • Easter service at, [135].
• Winchelsea, locality of “Denis Duval,” [288-315];
  • inroads of the sea, [302];
  • her great church, [302], [303];
  • plans for expansion, [303], [304];
  • Wesley’s last sermon preached at, [309];
  • sea-fight with Spaniards in, [310];
  • atmospheric and colour effects at, [312], [313].
• “Woodstock,” its locality, [221], [222].
• Woolwich, walk from Blackheath to, [168];
  • the common, [169];
  • military college and arsenal, [169];
  • feelings inspired by, [170-173].
• Wroxton Abbey, [222], [223].
• Wye River, [83].

FOOTNOTE

[1] The monument in the middle of the square, with Sir Edgar Boehm’s four fine soldiers, had not been set up when these words were written.