The Morgue

[ecb]

I just finished the first two sections of Peter's Morgue with his annotations and comments- right up to to Arthur's death.  Thank you so much for uploading this Andrew.  What a sad story and how perfectly the letters and comments bring their world and the people in it to life.  And thank you Peter - although I know it cost you tremendously to do this.

[andrew]

What a lovely response, that makes all the effort worthwhile. I often wonder what Peter would think if he could see me, 60 years on, not only trnscrib8ing his Morgue (against his wishes?) but adding the odd letter or whatever that evaded his grasp at the time. But for all its sadness, I find his Morgue as inspirational as it is melancholic. Arthur's death - and Sylvia's to come, and George's too - they all take death in their stride, embracing Browning's Prospice in a way that Peter either couldn't or wouldn't ...

Fear death?—to feel the fog in my throat,
The mist in my face,
When the snows begin, and the blasts denote
I am nearing the place,
The power of the night, the press of the storm,
The post of the foe;
Where he stands, the Arch Fear in a visible form ...

But thanks so much for your words and encouragement. I'm currently up to 1909 with the Morgue, but have just found a a dozen letters from JMB to Dolly P that belong in the previous upload, and have spent the evening transcribing them -while playing Scrabble with my brood here in the wilds of north Wales ...

[Contor]

Hello! 

I would love to read the second section of the Morgue that "ecb" mentions in this thread.  I found "Some Davies Letters and Papers (aka the Morgue) 1889-1897" in the database and thoroughly enjoyed it... I tried searching the "morgue" and a few other word combinations such as "Peter Davies Collection" (referencing the seven volumes of the Morgue that are mentioned in the site's introduction page) but on the database the first one is the only page that came up in the search engine... any leads or links would be greatly appreciated!

I'm so impressed and thankful for all the hard work you've put into this site, Andrew.  It truly is an astonishing feat and allows us to really appreciate this family's incredible history in an unprecedented way.  Thank you!