Francis Thom son p , T HE Preston-born Poet wi h N s ome Of hi w orks ( t otes on s ) , N JOHN THOMSO . P R E STON ooo oo o ooo oo o o o r i r C oz e 8: C c. P r i nt er s , No t Rd . P r eston r h . PRE F A C E . T h e i dea of th i s brief outline of the l ife and works of Francis Thompson was suggested by the erection of the e commemorative tablet on his birthplace , and by enquiri s then made concerning his l ife and career . I am indebted to Mr . ' h om so n s Meynel l for permission to quote from T p poems , to ' Sir Alfred Hopkinson for information as to the poe t s stay at - R ev . K . o n Owens College , and to the H Mann (Newcastle Tyne) , for leave to reproduce the two photographs of Thompson n 8 I Ush aw Ma azi e 1 0 . which appeared in the g of March , 9 am also indebted to the Magaz ine articles referred to (particularly Ush aw Ma azi ne . the g ) , and to the prefatory note by Mr Meynel l and the “ appreciations in the volume of Selected Poems s s . B e d i sued by Me srs urns Oates, Orchard Stre t , Lon on , the ' Poet s publ ishers . JOH N THOMSON . Gr ea A venh am S tr eet 44 , t , P r es ton e temb er 1 1 2 . , S p , 9 TO F RA N IS T H MP S N C O O . P e THOM SON , thy music l ike a d ep stream flows From mystic heights , and mirrors as i t goes n s The shades and sple dour of that luring peak , - Where poet dreamers dwel l , and tireless seek Their adequate stra ins ; and thy song i s fed By cyclic hauntings from the cliffs of dread Thou perforce clomb , a wi der worl d to scan , And catch lost ec hoes of the Pipes of Pan . From other sounds aloof thy music rolls, And men m u s t hearken for i t draws their souls Now thrills with awe , and now wi th such sweet stress As l i n ket h heart to heart in tenderness B y dire compel lings, none save those may wield , Whose birth - fused breath is fashion ed for the yield e e Who reach the crown d gates , and ntrance gain e ! To highest Heav n , through the Arch of Pain F RA NC IS THOMPSON , P ET A ND M! ST O IC . Go s on s for e n e i s ou r b i e f s ee l . g . d d r , w t p ay c il n f i f Go e o s o a n d s o o , h dr w t j y tardy rr w A n d som e ar e s u n a n d t was e s e g , tha y t rday . - A n d s om e u n s u n a n d m a b e to m o . g . that y rrow ’ Go fo ; an d i f i b e o e r s on rth t t y way , Old joy can l e n d what n e we r gri e f m us t b orrow A n d i t w a s s e e an d was es e w t , that y t rday . A nd s ee i s s e u i e o u c s e s o . w t w t . th gh p r ha d w th rrow F . h om son ( T p ) . FRA NC IS T H MP S N O O , poet and mystic , “ i n aster of the lordly line , the daring image , and the " ’ P 1 8 th lyric s lilt , was born at reston , on the December , 1 859 7 Wi nckle , in the house numbered , y Street , now used ’ ’ as a solicitor s office . H e was baptised at St . I gnatius 2otb Church , in that town , on the of the same month . s His full name , as it appears on the register of birth , is Francis joseph Thompson but his first published poem “ " having been signed Francis Thompson , it was thought advisable that he should , as he ever afterwards did , adhere to the shorter form . The commemorative tablet placed , R 8 F ANCIS TH OM PSON . l oth 1 910 ‘ on the August , , over the doorway of the house th e where poet first saw the light , gives his name in full . The tablet is the gift of Mrs . Catherine Holiday , of P - Hawkshead , (formerly of reston ,) and it is a sadly curious t h e fact that , only after many enquiries , could exact place “ of birth of one destined down the annals of fame to carry a name immortal —the greatest of his proud town ’ s — sons b e found . ’ The poet s father was Charles Thompson , a physician of — some note locally a man (according to a writer in the Ch ur ch Ti mes 21 1 91 1 , April , ) firm and kind , but some i n what austere discipline , and with no poetic instinct ; r his mother , Mary Tu ner Thompson , formerly Morton . Both parents were Catholics : the mother a convert some years before her marriage . F rancis was the second of the P . five children , all of whom were born in reston Two babies , Charles joseph , the firstborn (who only lived a day) , and Helen Mary , the fourth , are buried there . Dr . Thompson appears to have lived in several houses in P — VVi nckle reston the one in y Street , already mentioned ; 1 856 1 858 1 2 . before that (probably from to ) at , St ’ ~ Ignatius Square ; and after the birth of Francis , first in W i nckley Square ; and later in Latham Street . Two of ’ the doctor s children were born at the house in W i nckley — No . 33 1 861 1 862. Square ( ) one in , the other in I t 1 864 was whilst residing in Latham Street , in , that his H elen . daughter Mary died , and his last child was born ' The doctor 5 removal to Ashton under Lyne towards the F RANCIS TH OM PSON . 9 1 64 end of 8 , while his three surviving children were so young , will account for that town being sometimes given ’ as the poet s birthplace . ! ! 22nd 1 870 oung Thompson was sen t on the September , , ‘ V td U s h aw College , near Durham , well known at that tim e W for its literary associations with Lingard and iseman , and . O u r later , with Lafcadio Hearn youthful student soon evinced a remarkable love of books , and being specially indulged by his masters in his taste for the reading of the b e classics , early distinguished himself in such subjects as their ample reading would natu rally improve . Most of his - leisure hours were spent in the well stocked libraries , some i n times , his seminary days , behind a barrier of books “ erected as a protection from the attentions (catapults , - bullets of paper , and the like) of his class mates . H e was not strong enough to take much part in the college games , and only in the racquet courts , at handball , did he attain a proficiency above the average . His companions relate that he was extremely fond of watching , and was accounted ” a good j udge of, Cricket . I ndeed , the sunlit pitch seems to have had a fascination for him which he never lost . Towards the end of his life he knew all the famous scores : of the preceding quarter of a century after his death , the 30 averages of his cricket heroes , for over years , most care fully compiled , were found among his papers , and with them some verses on the absorbing game , in which the . T h e names of Hornby and Barlow appear verses , trivial and probably never intended for print , end t o R F ANCIS THOM P SON . I t is little I repair to the matches of the Southron folk , Though my own red roses there may blow I t is l ittle I repair to the matches of the Southron folk , Though the red roses crest the caps I know . For the fiel d is ful l of shades as I near the shadowy coast , And a ghostly batsman plays to the bowling of a ghost : h And I look t rough my tears on a soundless, clapping host , - As the run stealers flicker to and fro . To and fro , B O my Hornby and my arlow , long ago . The lines are not dated , but seem to have been called forth by an incident which occurred not long before the ’ poet s death . I t would appear that he had been invited to ’ Lord s to see Middlesex and Lancashire , and had agreed to for go ; but as the time the match drew near , the sad memories of bygone days became too much for him . The pathetic interest of a composition so reminiscent of the “ long ago will be understood by those who know what it is to miss their favourite faces from the field of sport . I t may be mentioned , in passing , that Thompson wrote a lengthy criticism of “ The jubilee Book of Cricket ” in A cadem 4 1897 —a the y (September , ) criticism full of Cricket acumen .