Talk:Marlborough and other poems

Preface to the second edition
Had the author lived, his poems, if published at all, would not have appeared without revision; but no editorial liberties have been taken with the present text. Readers who find something in the book that appeals to them will pardon an occasional lack of finish as well as the inclusion of some verses which may seem of personal interest only. The first place in the volume has been assigned to the title-poem. Some early poems are printed at the end. The other contents are arranged in the order of their composition, as nearly as that order can be ascertained. When the date given includes the day of the month, it has been taken from the author's manuscript; some of the other dates are approximate. Of the undated poems, XIII to XVI were received from him in the autumn of 1914, XVII to XXIV in April 1915, and XXVII was found among papers sent back recently from France. Many of the poems appeared in The Marlburian, and one of them was printed in The Times Literary Supplement for 28 October 1915. A single piece of prose, describing a night passed behind the lines, has been added.

In case any reader should ask about the author, the following information may be given. He was born at Old Aberdeen on 19 May 1895. From 1900 onwards his home was in Cambridge. He was at Marlborough from September 1908 till December 1913, when he was elected to a scholarship at University College, Oxford. After leaving school he spent a little more than six months in Germany, returning home on the outbreak of war. He was gazetted Second Lieutenant in the Seventh (Service) Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment in August 1914, Lieutenant in November, and Captain in the following August. He was sent to France on 30 May and was killed in action on 13 October 1915. "Being made perfect in a little while, he fulfilled long years." The letter in verse, fragments of which are given on pages 73-78, was sent anonymously to an older friend who, however, discovered its authorship and replied in the words which, by his permission, are now printed on the opposite page.

12 December 1915

NOTE.—The second edition contains an additional poem (XXVIII) which was unknown to the editor when the book was first published. The punctuation of another poem has been revised. A reference in the preface has been altered so as to suit the present edition.

29 January 1916

Preface to the third edition
What was said concerning the author in the preface to the first edition may be repeated here. He was born at Old Aberdeen on 19 May 1895. From 1900 onwards his home was in Cambridge. He was at Marlborough College from September 1908 till December 1913, when he was elected to a scholarship at University College, Oxford. After leaving school he spent a little more than six months in Germany, returning home on the outbreak of war. He was gazetted Second Lieutenant in the Seventh (Service) Battalion of the Suffolk Regiment in August 1914, Lieutenant in November, and Captain in the following August. His battalion was sent to France on 30 May. He was killed in action near Hulluch on 13 October 1915. "Being made perfect in a little while, he fulfilled long years." Many readers have asked for further information about the author or contributions from his pen. I am not able to give all that is asked for but in this edition I have done what I can to meet the wishes of my correspondents by appending to the poems a certain number of illustrations in prose. With the exception of a few sentences from an early essay, these prose passages are all taken from his letters to his family and friends. They have been selected as illustrating some idea or subject mentioned in the poems and prominent in his own mind. But the relevancy is not always very close; the moods of the moment are sometimes expressed rather than matured judgments; and it has to be remembered that what was written was not intended for other eyes than those of the person to whom it was addressed. With the poems it is different; and, had he lived, he would probably himself have published a selection of them with such revision as he deemed advisable. But when a suggestion about printing was made to him, soon after he had entered upon his life in the trenches of Flanders, he put the proposal aside as premature, adding "Besides, this is no time for oliveyards and vineyards, more especially of the small-holdings type. For three years or the duration of the war, let be." His warfare is now accomplished, and his relatives have felt themselves free to publish. The original order of the poems is retained in this edition. The first place is assigned to the title-poem, some early poems are printed at the end; the other contents are arranged in the order of their composition, as nearly as that order could be ascertained. When the date given includes the day of the month, it has been taken from the author's manuscript; some of the other dates are approximate. Of the undated poems, XIII to XVI were received from him in October 1914, XVII to XXIV in April 1915, XXVII was found in his kit sent back from France, and XXVIII (which appeared for the first time in the second edition) was sent to a friend towards the end of July 1915. A single piece of imaginative prose has been included amongst the poems. Some further information regarding them has been obtained recently. XVI was written when he was at the Officers' Training Camp at Churn early in September 1914, and XVII a few days later. XV had its origin in his journey from Churn to join his regiment at Shorncliffe on 18 September. The first draft of it was sent to a friend soon afterwards with the words: "enclosed the poem which eventually came out of the first day of term at Paddington. Not much trace of the origin left; but I think it should get a prize for being the first poem written since August 4th that isn't patriotic." This draft differs slightly from the final form of the poem, and instead of the present title ("Whom therefore we ignorantly worship"), it is preceded by the verse "And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise." The poem called "Lost" (XXIV) was sent to the same friend in December 1914. "I have tried for long," he wrote, "to express in words the impression that the land north of Marlborough must leave"; and he added, "Simplicity, paucity of words, monotony almost, and mystery are necessary. I think I have got it at last." The signpost, which figures here as well as elsewhere in the poems, stands at "the junction of the grass tracks on the Aldbourne down—to Ogbourne. Marlborough, Mildenhall, and Aldbourne. It stands up quite alone."

Three of the poems at least—II, XIII and XII—were written entirely in the open air. Concerning one of these he said, "'Autumn Dawn' has too much copy from Meredith in it, but I value it as being (with 'Return') a memento of my walk to Marlborough last September [1913]." Sending his "occasional budget" in April 1915 he said, "You will notice that most of what I have written is as hurried and angular as the handwriting: written out at different times and dirty with my pocket: but I have had no time for the final touch nor seem likely to have for some time, and so send them as they are. Nor have I had time to think out (as I usually do) a rigorous selection as fit for other eyes. So these are my explanations of the fall in quality. I like 'Le Revenant' best, being very interested in the previous and future experience of the character concerned: but it sadly needs the file." The letter in verse, fragments of which are given on pages 73-78, was sent anonymously to an older friend whose connexion with Marlborough is commemorated in the poem entitled "J. B." J. B. discovered the authorship of the epistle by sending the envelope to a Marlborough master, and replied in the words which, by his permission, are printed on the opposite page.

W. R. S.

21 September 1916.

Notes on the fifth edition (1922)
"The Fifth Edition is an exact reprint of the Fourth Edition except for a few verbal changes on pages 58 and 60. These changes are due to the recovery, after nearly six years, of some of the author's manuscripts which he had left behind him in Germany in August 1914. W. R. S."