Appendix: Chronology of AI<i Hayashi's Work for Edmund Blunden (a) AKI'S WORK FOR BLUNDEN Aki did a considerable amount of work for Blunden in the British Museum, which included some discoveries of previously unknown literary material; for example, about Coleridge (17 April 1930), a letter from Woodhouse to Clare (27 June 1931), an unknown Shelley article (16 June 1934), an article on Leigh Hunt in True Sun (21 June 1934) and some of Shelley's papers (24 June 1934). During the War, the British Museum was closed and Aki was saddened that she could do hardly any work for Blunden (13 September 1940). 'No work possible at B. M.' (6 January 1940), 'B. M. out of order' (13 December 1941); she had 'no work for' Blunden (3 and 12January 1943). She was then able to copy sonnets of Charles Lloyd (11 February 1943), but after that again there was no work for Aki (16 February 1944). It was June 1945 before her really substantial work started again when she began hunting for Shelley's articles (29 June 1945). While Blunden was in Japan, Aki sent him Coleridge letters (20 February 1948); and work on Coleridge again and Lamb (7 May 1948). Blunden found the Coleridge articles from Aki useful (9 and 13 October 1950). Aki also discovered Boyer's 'Album' (25 April 1952). Blunden thought about Aki during his Hong Kong absence (4 March 1953). Aki copied Latin and Greek quotations accurately and well (28 April1953). She copied John Clare's poems (8 March 1954), reported on Clare's death (17 June 1956), and found Milton's poems annotated by Lamb in the British Museum (14 May 1958). Blunden suggested to Aki that she should write about 'Blunden at Hongo' (during 1924-7) for Today's Japan (29 November 1959), and accordingly she sent them her 'Reminiscences' (28 January 1960). 212 Appendix: Chronology of Aki's Work 213 (b) AKI'S WORK FOR BLUNDEN ON LEIGH HUNT Blunden's biography of Leigh Hunt (Leigh Hunt: A Biography [Hamden, Conn.: Archon Books, 1970; originally published 1930]) is written in descriptive narrative style, full of quotations from the original books of Hunt and his friends - Shelley, Keats, Lamb, Byron, etc. Blunden himself was aware of this tendency to quote rather often, and was apologetic about it: '"It wants," he wrote in his preface, making me run the risk of quoting him too often, "the crust of the old barks ..."' (p. 151). In this circumstance Aki's assistance in copying out pieces from these authors must have been invaluable. The following is a list made by Blunden of the excerpts from Leigh Hunt's work which she copied for him. Leigh Hunt Monthly Mirror, 1810, April. Memoir by himself S' James's Magazine, 1875, vol. 14 p. 387 L. H. and Cha• Oilier People's Journal, 1846, pp. 268--270 L. H., by Mary Howitt Grundy, Francis H. 'Pictures of the Past' 1879 L. H. and his Family pp. 162-170 Pitman, J. R. 'Excerpta ex variis Romanis Poetis'. 1808 Thomas, Capt. G. P. 'Poems'. 1847 verses to L. H. or his family Whiting, Sydney 'Literary Melange.' 1847. Jerrold, Douglas Life of Hunt, Leigh 'Religion of the Heart.' 1854. [There is a special copy, marked by L. H. for 2nd edition. Alterations and additions.] Any other marked books by L. H. in the Catalogue, for example 'Ju-Kiao-Li', a Chinese novel. Gentleman's Magazine John Keats House Hampstead. South Kensington Museum Buy a Catalogue Dyce & Forster Collection. Ask about L. Hunt items, & Leigh Hunt items. if anything good may you Presentation copies &c. take a note? Guildhall Library Leigh Hunt cat. 1846. Obituary notice of John Hunt, L. H.'s brother } 1873 d? d? of Thornton L. Hunt, L. H.'s son 214 Appendix: Chronology of Aki's Work B.M. L. Hunt in Mrs E. B. Browning's Letters toR. H. Horne 2 vols. L. Hunt in Life of Cha5 Mathews by Mrs M. (actor) 4 vols. [Same book, C. Lamb: copy personal details.] Gent. Mag. 1838. C. V. Le Grice,- on Lamb. Jcopy and ? 1851 d? d? a Sonnet. all Aki wrote in her diary: On Oct. 16/30 I started to copy all the publications of L. Hunt and T. Hunt on a special notebook, and finished it on 18 October and straightway I sent the notebook to E. These were 168 publications of L. H. & 10 of Thornton H. One of the most striking character-sketches in this mediocre biography is of Hunt's mischievous son, John Hunt, who was the 'black sheep' of the family: Presently Brown moved from this 'pleasant lair' into Florence, and he appears to have taken with him, in an optimistic firmness, one of Leigh Hunt's troubles, as yet not come to full size but quite active- the urchin John Hunt Junr. Of this boy's psychological abnormality - a collection of brilliance, good-nature, savage temper and criminal subtlety - Thornton Hunt gives some account. In childhood 'he attacked his brothers with knives' more than once, and 'in order to extort some indulgence from his mother, whose state of health has already been mentioned, he held the carving knife over the soft part of the head of an infant brother'. (p. 209) Aki found it difficult to decipher the handwriting of this John (or perhaps it was Leigh Hunt's brother John). Thank you for the John Hunt letter &c., which I think most valuable .... I could easily correct the errors in yr copy of Appendix: Chronology of Aki's Work 215 J. Hunt's puzzling hand: e.g. 'Mr Waylott' is Mr Hazlitt. The whole letter is just what I wanted. (28 April 1928) This biography seems to show some of the limitations of Blunden' s ability as a literary critic and biographer- a lack of sharp observation and dry analysis of human character with less comprehension of philosophical ideas- he is so sympathetic toward Leigh Hunt and his friends, always prepared to defend them. (Blunden himself admits his distaste for abstraction: 'Metaphysicians are a trying kind of men' (p. 348).) Here we see in a sharp light the worse or weaker side of Hunt's personality, and the foppery that we regret in Hunt's writings is marked out in indelible black by an intense observer. The only objection to be made, since Hunt's natural predominance of fine qualities reasserted itself with Keats and must arise from his biography without rhetorical cultivation, is that Hunt was not given the chance to know what Keats was feeling towards him. (p. 143) Yet, on the other hand, much has been revealed of Blunden' sown personality through his accounts and descriptions of Leigh Hunt. For instance, Hunt was one of the Christ's Hospital band (p. 16) like Blunden, and both of them were keen advocates of liberal thinking. Hunt's The Examiner was described by Blunden as a 'keen instrument of liberty' (p. 81) and was strongly supported by Shelley and Hazlitt. The group then aspired to 'flexibility of style in verse' (p. 102), challenging Pope's metrical tyranny. They also popularised the use of the 'heroic couplet', and supported Keats's sensuality which was still regarded as 'foreign' by the public. Even Cardinal Wiseman attacked Keats's Endymion as blasphemy- the admiration of 'Nature' rather than the creator-omitting God, unlike Dante in his work (p. 335). In answer to this criticism Leigh Hunt defended Keats's work as 'affectionate and warm'. Blunden and Hunt had some important similarities in other matters. Like Blunden's, Hunt's hand-writing was 'as beautiful as Tennyson's' (p. 333), and according to Nathaniel Hawthorne, 'he (Hunt) desired sympathy as a flower seeks sunshine' (p. 325) which may strike echoes in Blunden's own character. Also both men were 216 Appendix: Chronology of Alci's Work attractive to women; and as Hawthorne said about Hunt, 'Women are the fit ministers at such a shrine.' 'Leigh Hunt loved dearly to be praised .... he never had been conscious of anything wonderful in his own person. And then he smiled, making himself and all the little parlour about him beautiful thereby. .. Women are the fit ministers at such a shrine. (p. 325) (c) CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WORK DONE BY AKI FOR BLUNDEN BETWEEN 1925 AND 1961 1925 29 August 'I need a secretary'. 31 August 'We begin the secretaryship'. 3 September The plan to take Aki to England. 5 September Aki appointed secretary. 7 September A book on Ukiyo-ye Uapanese painting]. 13 October Work in the British Museum. 1926 7 January Sorting letters. Copying poems. 24 March Transcribing Keats. 1927 4 October Copying from 'The Indicator'. 5 October Hopkins's list of Japanese libraries. 18 October Work for Mrs Murray for half a day to make savings. 28 October Copying Clare poems. 1 November Notes about University in Japan. Letter in Japanese from Kodokhan. 15 November Making a copy of the Essays. 1928 4February Leigh Hunt's memoirs. Bloomfield extracts. 18 February Copies of Leigh Hunt (Hunt's life). 19 March Leigh Hunt copies. 27 March Hunt's life. 3 April Old newspapers. Appendix: Chronology of Aki's Work 217 21 April All day in British Museum. 5May Copying letters. 1929 29 April Visa application: literary assistant. 13May Cashes a cheque. 26 August Visa renewed by Home Office. 3 November Cashes a cheque for travel. Work on Coleridge manuscripts. 11 November British Museum search. 8 December Meet Blunden at British Museum. Work on Coleridge in Manuscript Room. 1930 6 February Coleridge notebook. Proofs of Leigh Hunt.