Читать книгу The Stonehenge Letters - Harry Karlinsky - Страница 15

Amesbury Abbey

3 May 1894

Dear Mr Nobel,

I do hope you remember our meeting. I had the recent pleasure of introducing you to the grandeur of Stonehenge, those magnificent stones just beyond our Amesbury home. I confess I was pleased to hear that you are no longer their suitor, but not because you would be their unworthy guardian. No – it is only because I would miss the old stones so desperately, though they no longer stand as proud as they once did in ancient days.

I trust you do not think it overfamiliar of me to mention that I still recall with delight our spirited discussion – not only of Stonehenge but of Shelley, and Wordsworth and, of course, our dear Lord Byron.

Mr Nobel: when you departed, you encouraged my literary pursuits, fanciful as they may be, and I turn to you now for advice. Would you see fit to share your thoughts on the enclosed verse and prose? If so, you will find I have attempted to express my profound sentiments for the poetical aspects of Stonehenge. I hope I am not overstepping propriety by making this request, but I sensed in you a shared love of the written word – and I hope of Stonehenge itself.

Regardless of your interest in my minor ambitions, I do trust I can write to you from time to time. I am concerned about your health and encourage you to dress more warmly when outside.

Sincerely,

Florence C. M. Antrobus

P.S. Since your visit, the baronet has received no other offers for Stonehenge. Indeed, the Inspector of Ancient Monuments ^fn24 has recently arrived – unannounced! – and has now presented the baronet with a ‘Preservation Order’. A number of stones must immediately be made safe, at the baronet’s expense, and the roadway for wheeled traffic that runs through the monument must be diverted. It is apparently now our legal ‘duty’ to preserve Stonehenge. The baronet is furious; he is convinced the ongoing costs of upkeep will now jeopardise any chance of selling Stonehenge. I am, on the other hand, enormously happy!

Nobel was relieved. The vast majority of the correspondence he received was what he would refer to as ‘begging letters’ – individuals in difficult personal circumstances, funding campaigns to raise statues, and so on. It was therefore with genuine pleasure and interest that Nobel read Florence’s letter and the enclosures it contained: a small packet of poems, six in all, and a short piece of pastoral prose detailing the sun’s passage through the stones.

Nobel’s letter of response, written in English, arrived in mid-July, just over two months later.

San Remo

15 July 1894

Dear Miss ^fn25 Antrobus,

I most certainly remember our meeting at Stonehenge. Your charming tour made a great impression upon me and my thoughts have returned on more than one occasion to the delightful time we spent together. I was fortunate indeed to have such a well-informed guide.

And now to receive your wonderful poetry and prose. Thank you for entrusting me with it. I am far from a worthy critic, but I read all you enclosed with interest and admiration. I must again encourage you to publish your work one day. Your talents must not be wasted only on me!

And now a request of you. Though I first regretted my failure to acquire Stonehenge, I am now relieved I have not deprived you of your muse. However I believe the Inspector is correct; it was also my impression that the taller stones are in imminent danger of falling. Would you and your family do me the honour of accepting a contribution towards the costs incurred by the ‘Preservation Order’? As I wish to see the stones again one day – and their gracious docent – it is in MY selfish interest that this offer be accepted.

My warmest greetings to your husband and the Baronet. I remain,

A. Nobel

Florence replied immediately, thanking Nobel for his generous words. She hoped, of course, that Nobel would indeed visit again, perhaps in the fall, when he might experience ‘the wild, tempestuous autumnal gales that usually sweep across the Plain in October’. She was firm, however, on declining any financial support for Stonehenge. As she conveyed to Nobel, the baronet, a proud man, would simply hear of no such assistance.

Although they would not, in fact, meet again, Florence continued to write to Nobel at regular intervals. In between descriptions of life at Amesbury Abbey, there began to appear more personal asides, including a diffident sharing of her husband’s prolonged absences and the growing burden of her loneliness. Most often, however, Florence wrote about Stonehenge. Emboldened by Nobel’s praise, she soon divulged that she had decided to write a ‘sentimental’ guide to Stonehenge, one that she hoped a traveller to Stonehenge might find ‘pleasure in reading’. It would contain her ‘poetical and picturesque’ impressions of Stonehenge, such as found in the following letter:

Amesbury Abbey

3 April 1895

Dear Mr Alfred Nobel,

Late this morning I walked to Stonehenge. Though I have visited the exquisitely-coloured stones a thousand times before, I have never failed to be moved by their startling, sudden presence. For even from the banks of the nearby River Avon, the old stones are at first nowhere to be seen. Yet as one moves determinedly through the crackling grass and up the winding valley with the turquoise spring flowers signalling the traveller’s way, the tallest of the stones suddenly appear! Those nearest join together in a large outer circle – as if each was holding another’s hands – and together the ancient stones stand in defiant solidarity against the onslaught of time.

I stayed until evening. The sense of peace and tranquillity are with me still.

Ever sincerely,

Florence Antrobus

Though not as prolific a correspondent as Florence, Nobel’s responses were always courteous and gracious. He was genuinely admiring of Florence’s ‘poetical’ powers of observation. But Nobel’s intrinsic inquisitiveness and pragmatism also led to more prosaic questions.

Björkborn Manor

13 July 1895

Dear Florence, (I trust I may name you so?)

Thank you for your recent letters. It is particularly exciting to hear news of your intention to publish a ‘sentimental’ guide to Stonehenge. I can think of no better wordsmith to capture the varying moods and colours of the ‘great relic’. But might your ‘sentimental’ guide also be a ‘practical’ one – a compilation of the facts and considerations of learned authorities on the subject of Stonehenge? From where did the stones arise? What purpose lay behind this ancient structure? Who were the people who built these circles? I still recall with pleasure your entertaining account of such matters during my visit to Stonehenge. Might you now explore these questions in a more methodical and scholarly way? It is my view that true knowledge emerges only by careful and detached study, preferably by examining the words and works of those who are cleverer than one self.

But no more preaching! I have news that may interest you. I am now settled at Björkborn Manor and have shared your interest in Stonehenge with the local antiquarians. It appears there is a place in southern Sweden where many larger boulders also stand – but in the shape of an ancient ship. It is known as the Ales Stenar.

Perhaps one day I will have the pleasure of providing you with a tour of our country’s Stonehenge?

Sincerely,

A. N.

P.S. Please accept my gift of a Remington typewriter. It is a selfish gesture on my part as I take such delight in reading your tidings of Stonehenge.

Florence was pleased to learn of Ales Stenar. She was even more delighted to receive the typewriter. Taking Nobel’s suggestions seriously, she began to gather and read all existing accounts that touched upon Stonehenge, forwarding to Nobel facts of particular interest. In response, Nobel’s next gift was a camera.^fn26 He was now encouraging Florence to document the general appearance of Stonehenge, not only by providing descriptions of the individual stones, but by including relevant illustrations and photographs. In thanking Nobel, Florence included not only photographs of Stonehenge but also a keepsake of her own likeness.

Nobel was, of course, deeply touched by Florence’s personal photo and her appreciation. However, it would be some time before he would write again. After the summer at Björkborn Manor, Nobel had travelled south to Paris. That fall, he began to experience bouts of severe chest pain. Nobel was hospitalised against his protestations and then spent two months confined to his Paris mansion. It was a contemplative Nobel who wrote Florence from Paris in November 1895.

Figure 12. Florence Antrobus.

5 November 1895

Paris

Dear Florence,

I’m afraid my delay in writing is by Doctor’s orders. My heart troubles are severe and I have been ordered to bed. The spirits of Niflheim have descended and one of my few pleasures has been to receive your letters and the accompanying photographs. Indeed, it has given me great satisfaction to see you are progressing with your account of Stonehenge. Your book will be a lasting and noteworthy legacy, one that travellers to Stonehenge will find useful and inspiring in the years ahead.

Lately I, too, have been considering my contribution to posterity. As I am certain I am much more unwell than my doctors suspect, I wish to ensure I have made my bequests to those who are dear to me. I am now in the process of rewriting my Last Will and Testament. May I include you in some way? Your letters have meant a great deal to me, and I have valued our growing friendship, a rare treasure in my life of loneliness. You have been steadfast in refusing any monies for you or your family. But is there something that you might accept from a friend?

Sincerely,

Alfred

P.S. I am staring at your lovely red hair as I write this letter. This photograph is one of the dearest gifts I have ever received.

Florence initially refused to respond directly to Nobel’s heartfelt enquiry, assuring her friend he had years to live and that there was no rush in determining bequests of any kind. Instead, for the next six months, her letters to Nobel continued in the vein that had been previously established: impressions of Stonehenge that were now augmented by an increasing number of photographs and illustrations.

Florence was, in fact, deeply distressed by Nobel’s declining health. Due to a temporary improvement in his heart condition, Nobel was again well enough to summer at Björkborn Manor in July and August of 1896. That fall, however, Nobel’s angina worsened, and this time he was more convinced than ever that he was dying. Nobel again wrote to Florence, insisting she specify what bequest she was willing to receive from a man near death.

Florence finally responded as follows:

Amesbury Abbey

17 October 1896

Dear Alfred,

I, too, have valued our correspondence and friendship but I am afraid I cannot accept a financial bequest of any kind. As you are insistent, I now have one suggestion. You have honoured me with your interest in my passion – Stonehenge. You have challenged me to go beyond the beauty of Stonehenge and to learn more about its mysterious presence. I have strived vainly to do so – yet I have found so little is known with certitude.