Xxxvii

=To Christopher North=

You did late review my lays, Crusty Christopher; You did mingle blame and praise, Rusty Christopher. When I learnt from whom it came, I forgave you all the blame, Musty Christopher; I could not forgive the praise, Fusty Christopher.

[This epigram was Tennyson's reply to an article by Professor Wilson--'Christopher North'--in Blackwood's Magazine for May 1832, dealing in sensible fashion with Tennyson's 1830 volume, and ridiculing the fulsome praise lavished on him by his inconsiderate friends--especially referring to Arthur Hallam's article in the Englishman's Magazine for August, 1831.]