The letter is undated. In the Collected Letters of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Griggs argues that it was written in early November 1809, based on other correspondence from this period and biographical information. See the published edition of the correspondence, cited below, for additional information.
This collection, MA 1848, is comprised of 92 letters from Samuel Taylor Coleridge to Robert Southey, written between 1794 and 1819. See the collection-level record for more information (MA 1848.1-92).
This letter is from the Joanna Langlais Collection, a large collection of letters written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge to various recipients. The collection has been divided into subsets, based primarily on Coleridge's addressees, and these sub-collections have been cataloged as MA 1848-1857.
Address panel: "R. Southey, Esqre."
Saying that he has had to write a letter responding to criticisms of The Friend himself, though he will insert a letter from Southey in future issues; telling him that he has quarrelled with Daniel Stuart and Stuart has refused to assist him further, contradicting an earlier promise he had made to Wordsworth; adding that he will bring Stuart's letters with him when he comes to Keswick and commenting on various aspects of them; saying that he does not understand why Stuart has a high opinion of Marquess Wellesley and telling an anecdote about Wellesley flaunting his association with a prostitute named Sally Douglas; exclaiming "O I am sick of my Country -- and give up our Great Britainers Cat & Kittens, Sow & Litter!"; taking issue also with Stuart's faith that George Canning is one of the "Statesmen of real Ability -- in what? and what proof? -- These are things, that perplex me in a man of Stuart's consummate good sense"; saying that he will take Southey's advice regarding The Friend and make future issues more entertaining; listing the subjects that each of the future issues will cover, among them "France & the Character of Buonaparte" and "the foundations of Morality -- Taste"; adding "If it will not do after all, I must try at a Monthly Friend, & make it half miscellaneous, half on the former plan"; mentioning that he has received "a long vindicating letter" from his brother George, in which George enclosed a "downright red hot letter" from himself: "I had quite forgotten it -- as is the case with works of Anger -- the memory is all on the side of the Affrontee"; saying that the most important part of the letter is the news that his mother (Ann Bowden Coleridge) is dying, "and dying in great torture, death eating her piecemeal, her vital stamen is so very vigorous -- & she wishes to see me before her death"; writing that he is penniless and that his brother knows this and yet did not offer him anything to help him make the journey; mentioning that John Brown wishes to devote all his time and attention to printing; saying that his own poems are being prepared for Brown and that he hopes Southey might have some of his poetry printed by him: "He is a worthy creature, & you will see by my Poems whether his Printing is such as you would approve"; asking if Southey has seen the Simpliciad and promising to send him a copy, if not; saying that he would have written at greater length to Southey, as well as to Sara Coleridge, if he did not have to answer three important letters and send off The Friend by that night's carrier; adding that Charles William Pasley's letter will interest Southey and that he is concerned not to have heard from him recently; writing about his revision and use of his letters from Germany in issue 14 of The Friend, under the title Satyrane's Letters ("You will grin at my modest account of Satyrane, the Idoloclast [...] but what can I do? -- I must wear a mask"); saying that it is not quite as a good a joke as the one made by William Godwin in his Things As They Are; or, The Adventures of Caleb Williams.