The Stonehenge Letters. Harry Karlinsky

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       CHAPTER 6

       FLORENCE ANTROBUS

       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.

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