The year when boilers froze

Source: written for Robert Holford Macdowall Bosanquet, October 20, 1891

The occasion for which this poem was written remains unclear. Most sources associate it with Bosanquet’s 50th birthday on July 30, 1891, but they do not give an explanation why the date on the poem (which is mentioned only in a footnote in Letters and by Rudolf Rasch in his introduction to the reprint of Bosanquet’s An Elementary Treatise on Musical Intervals and Temperament—many thanks to Carl Lumma for finding this source and the discussion about this poem) is several months later. Additionally neither date is really fitting for writing about frozen boilers. Based solely on the contents of the poem and historical weather data, it could even have been written for Samuel Courthorpe Bosanquet’s birthday on March 2, 1855, but it seems very unlikely that Carroll would have sent a copy of the poem to his cousin several decades later.

The year when boilers froze and ket-
tles crystallised the fender
The natal day of Bosanquet
Dawned on us in its splendour.

For those who wear wool hosen cat-
ching colds a thing unheard of
But this great maxim Bosanquet
Would not believe a word of.

When Frenchmen say ‘sare, no zank’ et-
iquette suggests the answer
‘A zoughtless, zankless Bosanquet
Would be more zief zan man Sir.’

Dear Bosanquet I’ve here expressed
The grateful feeling that is
But due to one who treats his guest
To genuine oyster patties.

C. L. D.