HEARTSEASE AND ORCHID
THE LOST POET:
PERCY LANCELOT OSBORN
BY
BARRY VAN-ASTEN
Percy Lancelot Osborn
is a poet of the 1890’s who published many of his poems in The Spirit Lamp, the
Oxford undergraduate periodical which appeared between May 1892 and June 1893
(15 issues) edited by J S Phillimore and Sandys Wason, and later for the last
six issues, by Lord Alfred Douglas. Some of his translations also appeared in
The Fortnightly Review. Information concerning Percy Lancelot Osborn (‘P. L.
O.’ as he appears in the pages of The Spirit Lamp) is scarce and I felt the
compulsion to do a little research into this little known minor poet of the
Decadent period in English poetry.
HEARTSEASE AND ORCHID
Heartsease it was from
his dear hand I took,
A dainty flower that
loves the garden air,Breathing the freshness of his boyhood fair.
So it was treasured in a garden brook.
There came another
with a far off look,
His hand an orchid
gave; ‘twas strange and rare,And caught my senses in a beauteous snare,
Till sunlight for the furnace I forsook.
My heart grew drowsy
with a sweet disease;
And fluttered in a
cage of fantasy;And I remembered how his face was pale,
Yet by its very paleness more did please;
Now hath the orchid grown a part of me,
But still the heartsease tells its olden tale.
(Sonnet. December
1892. Published in The Spirit Lamp. vol III, number II. p. 43. February 17 1893 .)
From French of
Baudelaire, “Harmonie du Soir,” p. 155, ed. Levy.
And like a censer breathes its incense rare,
Music and perfume fill the evening air…
O dreary valse; O dreamy vertigo!
Flowers from their
censers breathe an incense rare;
The viol quivers like
a heart in woe –O dreary valse! O dreamy vertigo!
Sad is the sky; but, like God’s altar, fair.
The viol quivers like
a heart in woe,
A heart that hates the
night in blank despair;The sky is sad; but, like God’s altar, fair;
Drowned as in curdling blood the sun sinks low.
The tender heart that
shrinks from blank despair
Culls remnants of
bright days of long ago;Tho’ sinks the Sun in blood, my heart’s a-glow;
For thoughts of thee shine like a monstrance there.
(Fleurs du Mal.)
(The Spirit Lamp. vol
IV, number II. p. 69. June 6 1893.)
Percy Lancelot Osborn
was born in Blackburn , Lancashire
in 1870. His father was Edward Haydon Osborn (son of Edward and Mary Osborn) born 1832 at Lutton Valence in Kent and
Christened on 17th
May 1832 at Headcorn ,
Kent (he died
in 1908 in Paddington, London ).
Edward was educated at Oxford
University and in 1861 the family were living at Upper Gower Street, London; Edward is 27 years old and his occupation is listed as 'B A Oxford'; he is living at the address with his mother Mary who is head of the household, his sister Emily M Osborn aged 30, his brother William aged 23 and his sister Florence aged 12. Edward Haydon Osborn married
Augusta Keturah Richardson (born in 1843 in Chelsea , London and dying in Paddington, London in 1905) on 12th April 1866
at Old Church , St. Pancras. They had the
following children: Edward Bolland Osborn born St Pancras, Middlesex, 1867, William Evelyn Osborn born
St Pancras, Middlesex, 1868, married in 1896 and died in Chelsea, London in 1906, Percy Lancelot
Osborn born Blackburn, Lancashire, 1870, H A Mary Osborn born Rochdale, Lancashire, 1875 and Harry Lonsdale Osborn born Rochdale, Lancashire, 1878
and dying in Salford in 1893.
The Garland of Boyhood’s Flowers
(from the Greek Anthology)
Eros for Cypris wove a
garland rare,
And gathered all the
flowers of boyhood fair,And joined a wreath that should all hearts ensnare.
For Diodore he plucked
the lily bright,
For Asclepiades a
violet white,And culled a thornless rose for Heraclite.
Dion he gave the
blossom of the vine,
And set there with for
thee, sweet Theromine,A crocus golden as those locks of thine!
Thyme for Oudiades; an
olive spray
For curly-haired
Musicus, and the bay,Virtue’s fair evergreen that blooms alway.
O happy Tyre , all other isles
above,
Where lies the sacred
incense-breathing grove,Garden of beauteous boys beloved of Love!
(The Spirit Lamp. vol
I, number V. p. 65. June 3
1892. )
This ever is my fear,
lest love-beguiled
Some nymph should
steal the Hylas whom I love,And I should seek him thro’ the woodland wild,
And all in vain the wanton theft reprove;
When I have seen him in the glassy stream
Bend on the image of his countenance,
And e’en as one led captive by a dream,
Watch languidly the ripples in their dance,
Then have I caught him back, as tho’ me-thought
Some nymph should woo him in his own despite,
For they but err, who deem the legends nought,
Of Hylas stolen by the watersprite;
And how a book betrayed the young Narcisse,
Whose very beauty kept him poor in bliss.*
(*. V, 14 of Ovid, in
which Narcissus says “Inopem me copia fecit”.)
(Sonnet.The Spirit
Lamp. vol III, number II. p. 43. February 17 1893 .)
Percy attended
CORYDON
Now Corydon is gone,
that Loves lament,
And with the Loves
lament a troop of boys,For cruel laws have slain Love’s sweet content,
And cruel men have mocked at gentle joys.
The Rose is sighing in the garden-close,
While morning weeps her pearly tears of dew;
But a white rosebud comforteth the rose,
“Love will return, and joy has reign renew.” –
Shall love return? Nay love hath never gone;
Love lives, tho’ he be reft of all that’s dear.
Weep, weep, Alexis for the Corydon,
But love him more, because he is not here;
What day hath taken, night shall give back to thee,
And dreams tell o’er thy lost felicity.
(Sonnet. May 1892. The
Spirit Lamp. vol III, number II. p. 44. February 17 1893 .)
CAPRICE (Par P. L. O.)
LA CIGARETTE
O Cigarette a douce
odeur,
Les tourbillons de ta
vapeurRessemblant a la vie humaine,
Qui n’est que vaporense et vaine.
Comme dans l’air la
vapeur fuit,
L’ame qui meurt
s’evanouitDieu s’ecrie! Ah, si l’on regrette
Roulons une autre cigarette!
(The Spirit Lamp. vol
II, number IV. p. 113. December 6 1892.)
Fledged
with the rose leaves as with wings
My roses
hasten to thy feet.
Take
graciously a gift that brings
Remembrance
of Adonis sweet:
Nay,
take them as the Paphian dyes,
Or as
the Earth’s enamoured eyes!
Olives
become the athlete best,
Great
princes the tiara wear,
Meet for
the soldier is his crest,
But
roses doth kindred colours show
And
kindred fragrance she discloses,
Nor will
my flowers adorn thee; no
‘Tis
thou who will adorn the roses.
(Rose
Leaves from Philostratus. Epistle 1. Sent to a fair Boy with a present of
Roses. Translated by Percy Osborn)
Stars above their
faces in awe are hiding,
While the Moon, with
beauty the world adorning,At the full, with silvery beams delightful,
Shines from
(The Poems of Sappho.
Percy Osborn. 1909.)
(D’apres Lucien “Amours”.)
Le premier pas de ton
echelle,
Aphrodite unisexuelleC’est regarder le doux enfant,
Et de sa voix ouir le chant.
Le second pas est
quand tu serres
Avec des oeillades
l’egeresSes mains au contour veloute,
Don’t charme l’electricite.
Puis, le prochain,
c’est la caresse,
Quand ton bras
amoureux le presse,Pendaut que Presque sans dessein
Tu Frottes doucement son sein!
Le dernier pas de
l’amourette,
N’est-ce-pas l’union
complete;L’extase des corps et des coeurs,
Et je ne
(Chants et Poesies de
P. L. O.)
(The Spirit Lamp. vol
IV, number II. p. 70. June 6
1893 .)
In the 1901 census taken on 31st March, Percy, aged 30 is in Hanworth, Norfolk. He is listed as a boarder at the home of the Reverend Richard H O Banker (Church of England) aged 41, born in Purton, Buckinghamshire. Also at the address is Richard's wife Maud M A Banker, 37 from Wotton, Herefordshire; Conrad D R O Banker, aged 17 born Cleredon, Somersetshire and the two servants: Kate Brown, 26 from Horton, Northamptonshire and Elizabeth C Armstrong, 23 from Goldington, Bedfordshire. Percy's occupation is listed as 'Tutor' so it is probably safe to suggest he is tutoring the Reverend Banker's son, Conrad.
His father Edward now aged 69, mother Augusta, 54 and sister A H Mary aged 24 are living at 152 Elgin Avenue, Paddington, London where they remain for some time (they are still there in 1909). Edward is described as being a 'Home Office Inspector of Factories' and they have one servant named C L Ballinger, aged 54 (born 1847 in Stratford, Essex), she is described as a 'Housekeeper Domestic'.
In the 1901 census taken on 31st March, Percy, aged 30 is in Hanworth, Norfolk. He is listed as a boarder at the home of the Reverend Richard H O Banker (Church of England) aged 41, born in Purton, Buckinghamshire. Also at the address is Richard's wife Maud M A Banker, 37 from Wotton, Herefordshire; Conrad D R O Banker, aged 17 born Cleredon, Somersetshire and the two servants: Kate Brown, 26 from Horton, Northamptonshire and Elizabeth C Armstrong, 23 from Goldington, Bedfordshire. Percy's occupation is listed as 'Tutor' so it is probably safe to suggest he is tutoring the Reverend Banker's son, Conrad.
His father Edward now aged 69, mother Augusta, 54 and sister A H Mary aged 24 are living at 152 Elgin Avenue, Paddington, London where they remain for some time (they are still there in 1909). Edward is described as being a 'Home Office Inspector of Factories' and they have one servant named C L Ballinger, aged 54 (born 1847 in Stratford, Essex), she is described as a 'Housekeeper Domestic'.
CRUEL LAUGHTER
You answer nothing, tho’ I coax and flatter;
I ask again; the smiling dimples come;
I weep; you laugh. – Is this a laughing matter?
(The Spirit Lamp. vol
I, number VI. p. 79. June 10
1892 .)
SUICIDE TRIOMPHANT
Mon corps est froid, mon Coeur est vide.
Mon temple est
un tombeau beant,
Ma ‘providence’ est le
neant.
Venez, venez, gens
miserables!
Les dieux etablis sont
des fables!
Je suis l’ami du
rejete,
L’ami de toute
infirmite.
Je donne la ‘mort
immortelle’,
L’oblivion
perpetuelle.
Venez; le chemin est
etroit,
Venez, venez, c’est
votre droit.
Je suis le Dieu de
suicide
Mon corps est froid,
mon Coeur est vide.
(Chansonettes
“Mandites,”)
(The Spirit Lamp. vol
III, number I. p. 15. February 3 1893 .)
In 1939 Percy is living in Willesden, Middlesex, at the home of Henry Victor Bush (born 1892), his wife Mary Bush (born 1894) and their daughter Vera J Bush (born 1925).
In 1939 Percy is living in Willesden, Middlesex, at the home of Henry Victor Bush (born 1892), his wife Mary Bush (born 1894) and their daughter Vera J Bush (born 1925).
AMOR
MYSTICUS
Version
in sonnet form. By Marianus.
(1) From
Greek Anthology.
“Where
is thy bow, thy backward bending bow?
Where
are the reeds thou planted in the heart?
Where
are thy wings? thy torch? thy grievous dart?
Three
crowns thou bearest in thine hands, I trow,
And one
upon thine head! Ah! wherefore so?”
“The love
men buy and sell in open mart
Ne’er
gave me birth; I am not as thou art,
A child
of wild delights that come and go.
(2) From
Meleager (Anthology), Honey of Love.
Parched
and athirst one summer day
I
chanced to kiss my dainty love,
And
straight my thirst was done away,
Whereon
I cried, Dost drink, O Jove,
Thy
Ganymede’s nectarean kiss?
Grants
he to thee this cup of bliss?
For when
I kissed my fair one’s lip,
And won
from him the promised toll,
Ah! then
I sipped or seemed to sip
The
fragrant honey of his soul!
(3) Callimachus
(Anthology), Set a Thief to catch a Thief.
Our
friend was wounded, all the truth we knew,
Didst
mark how bitter was the sigh he drew?
At the
third glass the roses of his wreath
Their
petals shed, and strewed the ground beneath.
Love’s
fire he feels and feels it to his grief,
Good
cause have I, ye Gods! For my belief;
A thief
myself, I can detect a thief!
(4) Meleager.
A Vision of Beauty (Adapted slightly).
I saw
Alexis walking thro’ the dell
At
noontide hour when Summer ‘gan to fell
The
bearded grain;
And
two-fold rays consumed me; rays of Love
From his
dear eyes, and rays from Sol above.
But
these again
Were by
the Night allayed; those other beams
By Beauty’s
phantom shining in my dreams
Were
kindly kigher;
And
sleep, that rests the careworn, brought me care;
Fashioning
in my soul an image fair,
A living
fire!
(The
Spirit Lamp. vol II, number IV. p. 112-113. December 6 1892.)
Percy’s brother,
Edward Bolland also went to Magdalen
College , Oxford , matriculating on 6th
February 1885 aged 18, coming from Rossall
School . Exhibitioner in
1885, BA in 1890, Hons – 2 Mathematical Mods 1886 and 3 Mathematics in 1888.
Edward also had work published in The Spirit Lamp: ‘Mirandus: A Platonic Idyll’
(vol III, number I. p.10-15. February 3 1893 .) and ‘A
Legend of the Atlantic ’ (vol III, number I. p. 16. February
3 1893 .)
He later published
several volumes:
‘Greater Canada : The
Past, Present and Future of the Canadian North-West’. (1900)
‘The Muse in Arms’.
(1917) an anthology of British War Poetry.
‘The Maid with Wings:
And Other Fantasies, Grave to Gray’ (1917)
‘The New Elizabethans,
a first selection of the Lives of Young Men who have fallen in the Great War’.
(1919)
‘Literature and Life:
Things seen, heard and read’. (1921)
‘Our Debt to Greece and Rome ’. (1924)
‘The Heritage of Greece and the
Legacy of Rome ’.
(1925)
‘Anthology of Sporting
Verse’. (1930)
Edward Bolland Osborn
became the Literary Editor of the Morning Post and he died in 1938. It is not
altogether known when Percy died but there is some evidence to suggest he may
have lived until the beginning of 1951 where there is a death recorded for Percy L Osborn, died in St Pancras, London aged 80.
Fascinating stuff, thank you! I am researching Osborn's poems at the moment for a conference paper that will turn into a chapter about English versions of Philostratus' letters. I'd love to ask you about your sources for this info about Osborn, who isn't very easy to find out about as you say, and about this subject further, if you'd be willing?
ReplyDeleteIf you'd be willing to discuss privately, owen.hodkinson@gmail.com - would be willing to compensate for your time if you have any more info/leads that aren't already on the website here.
ReplyDeleteThank you Owen, I have sent you an email but forgot to add that the poems from The Spirit Lamp can be found in one volume at Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/spiritlampserial00doug
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