The Life of John Clare

The Life of John Clare [with
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Title: The Life of John Clare
Author: Frederick Martin
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THE LIFE OF JOHN CLARE.
by
FREDERICK MARTIN.
* * * * *
PREFACE.
Some forty years ago, the literary world rapturously hailed the
appearance of a new poet, brought forward as 'the Northamptonshire
Peasant' and 'the English Burns.' There was no limit to the applause
bestowed upon him. Rossini set his verses to music; Madame Vestris
recited them before crowded audiences; William Gifford sang his
praises in the 'Quarterly Review;' and all the critical journals, reviews,
and magazines of the day were unanimous in their admiration of
poetical genius coming before them in the humble garb of a farm
labourer. The 'Northamptonshire Peasant' was duly petted, flattered,
lionized, and caressed--and, of course, as duly forgotten when his nine
days were passed. It was the old tale, all over. In this case, flattery did
not spoil the 'peasant;' but poverty, neglect, and suffering broke his
heart. After writing some exquisite poetry, and struggling for years
with fierce want, he sank at last under the burthen of his sorrows, and
in the spring of 1864 died at the Northampton Lunatic Asylum. It is a
very old tale, no doubt, but which may bear being told once more,
brimful as it is of human interest.
The narrative has been drawn from a vast mass of letters and other
original documents, including some very curious autobiographical
memoirs. The possession of all these papers, kindly furnished by
friends and admirers of the poet, has enabled the writer to give more

detail to his description than is usual in short biographies--at least in
biographies of men born, like John Clare, in what may truly be called
the very lowest rank of the people.
London, _May_, 1865.
* * * * *
CONTENTS.
HELPSTON.
JOHN CLARE LEARNS THRESHING, AND MAKES AN
ATTEMPT TO BECOME A LAWYER'S CLERK.
JOHN CLARE STUDIES ALGEBRA, AND FALLS IN LOVE.
TRAVELS IN SEARCH OF A BOOK.
VARIOUS ADVENTURES, INCLUDING THE PURCHASE OF
'LOWE'S CRITICAL SPELLING-BOOK.'
FRESH ATTEMPTS TO RISE IN THE WORLD: A SHORT
MILITARY CAREER.
TRIAL OF GYPSY LIFE.
LIME BURNING AND LOVE MAKING.
ATTEMPTS TO GET UP A PROSPECTUS.
THE TURN OF FORTUNE.
JOHN CLARE'S FIRST PATRON.
PREPARING FOR PUBLICATION.
SUCCESS.
'OPINIONS OF THE PRESS' AND CONSEQUENCES.
NEW SIGHTS AND NEW FRIENDS.
FIRST TROUBLES OF FAME.
PATRONAGE UNDER VARIOUS ASPECTS.
PUBLICATION OF THE 'VILLAGE MINSTREL.'
GLIMPSES OF JOHN CLARE AT HOME.
JOURNEY TO LONDON.
DARKENING CLOUDS.
PHYSIC AND PHYSICIANS.
NEW STRUGGLES.
PUBLICATION OF 'THE SHEPHERD'S CALENDAR.'
VISITS TO NEW AND OLD FRIENDS.
THE POET AS PEDLAR.
CLOUDS AND SUNSHINE.
FRIENDS IN NEED.

NORTHBOROUGH.
ALONE.
THE LAST STRUGGLE.
BURST OF INSANITY.
COUNTY PATRONAGE.
DR. ALLEN'S ASYLUM.
ESCAPE FROM THE ASYLUM.
FINIS.
* * * * *
THE LIFE OF JOHN CLARE.

HELPSTON.
On the borders of the Lincolnshire fens, half-way between Stamford
and Peterborough, stands the little village of Helpston. One Helpo, a
so-called 'stipendiary knight,' but of whom the old chronicles know
nothing beyond the bare title, exercised his craft here in the Norman
age, and left his name sticking to the marshy soil. But the ground was
alive with human craft and industry long before the Norman knights
came prancing into the British Isles. A thousand years before the time
of stipendiary Helpo, the Romans built in this neighbourhood their
Durobrivae, which station must have been of great importance, judging
from the remains, not crushed by the wreck of twenty centuries. Old
urns, and coins bearing the