The poem was sent in a letter of 7 August 1871 to Thomas Gordon Hake. It is one of three copies of the ballad that DGR sent
in letters at the time. The other two went to William Bell Scott and to
DGR's mother (see Fredeman,
Correspondence71. 117). The whereabouts of the Scott manuscript is not known, but Scott printed a transcript in his
Autobiographical Notes.
Scholarly Commentary
Introduction
The poem was sent in a letter of 7 August 1871 to Thomas Gordon Hake. It is one of three copies of the ballad that DGR sent in letters at the time. The other two went to William Bell Scott and to DGR's mother (see Fredeman, Correspondence71. 117). The whereabouts of the Scott manuscript is not known, but Scott printed a transcript in his Autobiographical Notes.