ire and uphold him, and that this was
at a time when it made demand of some courage to class him among the
immortals, when an original edition of any of his books could be bought
for sixpence on a bookstall, and when only Leigh Hunt, Cowden Clarke,
Hood, Benjamin Haydon, and perhaps a few others, were still living of
those who recognised his great gifts.

CHAPTER VI.

Rossetti's primary interest in Chatterton dates back to an early period,
as I find by the date, 1848, in the copy he possessed of the poet's
works. But throughout a long interval he neglected Chatterton, and
it was not until his friend Theodore Watts, who had made Chatterton
a special study, had undertaken to select from and write upon him in
Ward's _English Poets_, that he revived his old acquaintance. Whatever
Rossetti did he did thoroughly, and hence he became as intimate perhaps
with the Rowley antiques as any other man had ever been. His letters
written during the course of his Chatterton researches must, I think,
prove extremely interesting. He says:

Glancing at your Keats MS., I notice (in a series of
parallels) the names of Marlowe and Savage; but not the less
"marvellous" than absolutely miraculous Chatterton. Are you
up in his work? He is in the very first rank! Theod. Watts
is "doing him" for the new selection of poets by Arnold and
Ward, and I have contributed a sonnet to Watts's article....
I assure you Chatterton's name _must_ come in somewhere in
the parallel passage. He was as great as any English poet
whatever, and might absolutely, had he lived, have proved
the only man in England's theatre of imagination who could
have bandied parts with Shakspeare. The best way of getting
at him is in Skeat's Aldine edition (G. Bell and Co., 1875).
Read him carefully, and you will find his acknowledged work
essentially as powerful as his antiques, though less evenly
successful--the Rowley work having been produced in Bristol
leisure, however indigent, and the modern poetry in the very
fangs of London struggle. Strong derivative points are to be
found in Keats and Coleridge from the study of Chatterton. I
feel much inclined to send the sonnet (on Chatterton) as you
wish, but really think it is better not to ventilate these
things till in print. I have since written one on Blake. Not
to know Chatterton is to be ignorant of the _true_ da