EARLY LIFE IN CHAPTER II 1872-8 LONDON-HIS FIRST LECTURES MEETING WITH SWINBURNE-HIS FIRST BOOK- T HOUGH he came to London, he did not lose touch with Oxford. Indeed, to the end of his life he never quite lost touch with Oxford, which always had a fascination for him. At this time, of course, he realized that, precarious as was his existence there, it would be still more precarious if he severed himself completely from the University. He started his career in London by sending contributions to the Globe for what is called the "turnover" article-a distinguishing feature of that paper to the present day. Officially the "turnover articles commenced on January 1, 1877, and from that day to this the paper has an official and continuous record with the names of the contributors; but as a matter of fact they are to be found long before this date, and his article (most probably his first) entitled "End of Term " appeared on December 18, 1872. This was the beginning of his connection with the Globe, which -1878 EARLY STRUGGLES IN LONDON 23 lasted somewhat intermittently for several years. His articles, though they embraced several topics, were chiefly on Old London. For some time, then, he spent three days a week in Oxford and three days a week in town -3 Elm Court, Middle Temple. He evidently found a difficulty in keeping his head above water, though he seems to have been perfectly cheerful-even when addressing envelopes at 2s. 6d. per 1000-which at one time he was reduced to doing. He writes to his friend, Arnold Page: 5 PALSGRAVE PLACE, TEMPLE BAR. MY DEAR PAGE,-I am in a dear old garret at 5 Palsgrave Place, Temple Bar, scribbling eight hours a day. It is such a fusty, musty, frumpty old place, though dear to me from old memories-that I don't like to ask you here. Drop me a line and say when you will see me and where. Well! shall you be in circa 9 o'clock on Tuesday-if so I will drop in for pipe and talk then up to then shall be engaged, but am off to Victoria Theatre, New Cut for scientific purposes to-morrow Monday night at 7 o'clock, if you are inclined to come, be at Temple Club at quarter to seven and ask for me, for I shall slip in then for five minutes. Want to see you awfully. Yours ever, J. C. COLLINS. Awfully glad to hear you are better. But matters now began to improve. For he came to the notice of William Baptiste Scoones, through Mr T. Hart-Davies,' afterwards one of his greatest friends, who thus describes how the introduction was brought about :— My first acquaintance with Churton Collins was in 1873, when I had just returned from India. I wished to take up some Classical work, and consulted Mr Scoones who, although at that time was not acquainted with Collins, had heard of him and advised me to seek him out. In the following year Mr Scoones told me that he required a Classical Coach, and in my turn I strongly advised him to take Collins on at Garrick Chambers, for such an admirable and enthusiastic teacher as Collins, and one more capable of imparting his enthusiasm to his pupils, I had never met. The matter was practically settled then, and in the autumn of that year he took up his duties in Garrick Street. Thus his long connection with "Scoones" and what may be called his first lectures began. He writes to his friend Page : I am on at full swing with Scoones, and if you saw me, the pink of respectability plus specsspecs mind-holding forth to hungry note-taking youths, verily you would say Tempora mutantur. Scoones soon found him indispensable, and 1 Member for North Hackney for some years. -1878 SCOONES 25 when, after a few years, he spoke of leaving, Scoones wouldn't hear of it. "I know I shall never get anyone to fill your place," he said. Reluctant to leave his first benefactor and friend, he stayed on, and it was not till after fourteen years had passed that he finally, with mutual regrets, felt compelled to take up other work. On hearing of Scoones' death many years later, in 1906, he writes : He gave me my first lift in life, and shrewdly believed in me, entrusting me with work done only by very distinguished University men, and giving me much of the English Literature and Classics for the Indian Civil Service and Home Civil Service candidates. I always found him honest and straightforward, and very kindly I shall always think of him gratefully. Amongst his pupils at Scoones' was Mr Stephen Phillips, who some years later wrote to him : WOODTHORPE ROAD, ASHFORD, MIddlesex. DEAR MR CHURTON COLLINS,-You may possibly know my name in verse as the author of Christ in Hades." John Lane, I think, said that William Watson read you some passages from the poem some time ago. I thought perhaps you might care to have it, as I have, of course, a very great respect for your opinion. You probably do not recollect me when I was at your lectures at Mr Scoones'. As it was from you that I first got my love of verse, I thought I should like to send you what I have done. The work is now in a fourth edition. If there should be any chance of our meeting, it would be a great pleasure to me to renew an acquaintance of which I have such pleasant memories.—I am, yours sincerely, STEPHEN PHILLIPS. Meantime he had met and formed an acquaintance with Algernon Charles Swinburne, an acquaintance that soon ripened into intimate friendship-friendship that was to be completely and irrevocably broken. He received a number of letters from the poet, of which the following, written in 1873, is the first : 3 GREAT JAMES STREET, Oct. 14th. MY DEAR SIR,-I am rejoiced to hear that you think of editing Cyril Tourneur and shall look eagerly for the book, as I have done since we met for your intended article in the Gentleman's Magazine, if I rightly remember. My own idea of doing anything in the matter was nipped in the bud by the refusal of the society, under whose auspices Furnival thought it possibly might appear, to reprint anything which had been previously reprinted, this being against their rule, so that both Revenger's and Atheist's Tragedies stood excluded. (Do you know the rather scarce reprint of the latter in a volume of |