6

'Bankes's aid, and would not have accepted it if I had (though I love and esteem him); and the third — —*. So you see that I have seen some strange things ' in my time. As for your own offer, it was in 1815, ' when I was in actual uncertainty of five pounds. I rejected it; but I have not forgotten it, although you probably have.

'P.S. Foscolo's Ricciardo was lent, with the leaves 'uncut, to some Italians, now in villeggiatura, so that 'I have had no opportunity of hearing their decision, or of reading it. They seized on it as Foscolo's, and 'on account of the beauty of the paper and printing, 'directly. If I find it takes, I will reprint it here. The Italians think as highly of Foscolo as they can ' of any man, divided and miserable as they are, and 'with neither leisure at present to read, nor head nor 'heart to judge of any thing but extracts from French newspapers and the Lugano Gazette.

'We are all looking at one another, like wolves on 'their prey in pursuit, only waiting for the first falling on to do unutterable things. They are a great 'world in chaos, or angels in hell, which you please; 'but out of chaos came Paradise, and out of hell-I 'don't know what; but the devil went in there, and 'he was a fine fellow once, you know.

'You need never favour me with any periodical 'publication, except the Edinburgh Quarterly, and an 'occasional Blackwood; or now and then a Monthly Review; for the rest I do not feel curiosity enough 'to look beyond their covers.

To be sure I took in the British finely. He fell 'precisely into the glaring trap laid for him. It was

*The paragraph is left thus imperfect in the original.

'inconceivable how he could be so absurd as to 'imagine us serious with him.

'Recollect, that if you put my name to "Don Juan" in these canting days, any lawyer might oppose my guardian right of my daughter in chancery, on the plea of its containing the parody; '-such are the perils of a foolish jest. I was not ' aware of this at the time, but you will find it correct, 'I believe; and you may be sure that the Noels Now I prefer my child to a poem at any time, and so should you, as having half ' a dozen.

'would not let it slip.

'Let me know your notions.

'If you turn over the earlier pages of the Hunting'don peerage story, you will see how common a name Ada was in the early Plantagenet days. I found it ' in my own pedigree in the reign of John and Henry, and gave it to my daughter. It was also the name ' of Charlemagne's sister. It is in an early chapter of Genesis, as the name of the wife of Lamech; and I suppose Ada is the feminine of Adam. It is short, 'ancient, vocalic, and had been in my family; for 'which reason I gave it to my daughter.'

LETTER 391.

By land and sea carriage a considerable quantity of books have arrived; and I am obliged and grateful: but "medio de fonte leporum, surgit amari aliquid,' &c. &c.; which, being interpreted, means,

'I'm thankful for your books, dear Murray;
'But why not send Scott's Monastery?

the only book in four living volumes I would give 'a baioccolo to see 'bating the rest of the same

author, and an occasional Edinburgh and Quarterly, 'as brief chroniclers of the times. Instead of this, 'here are Johnny Keats's * * poetry, and three ' novels by God knows whom, except that there is 'Peg * *'s name to one of them-a spinster whom 'I thought we had sent back to her spinning. Crayon is very good; Hogg's Tales rough, but RACY,

' and welcome.

Books of travels are expensive, and I don't want 'them, having travelled already; besides, they lie. 'Thank the author of "the Profligate" for his (or her) present. Pray send me no more poetry but 'what is rare and decidedly good. There is such a 'trash of Keats and the like upon my tables that I ' am ashamed to look at them. I say nothing against your parsons, your S**s and your Cs-it is all very fine-but pray dispense me from the 'pleasure. Instead of poetry, if will favour me with a few soda-powders, I shall be delighted: but 'all prose ('bating travels and novels NOT by Scott) is 'welcome, especially Scott's Tales of my Landlord, ' and so on.

you

In the notes to Marino Faliero, it may be as well 'to say that" Benintende" was not really of the Ten, 'but merely Grand Chancellor, a separate office (although important); it was an arbitrary alteration of mine. The Doges too were all buried in St. 'Mark's before Faliero. It is singular that when his predecessor, Andrea Dandolo, died, the Ten made a law that all the future Doges should be buried with 'their families, in their own churches,-one would think by a kind of presentiment. So that all that is said of 'his ancestral Doges, as buried at St. John's and 'Paul's, is altered from the fact, they being in St.

VOL. III.

Ꭰ

Mark's. Make a note of this, and put Editor as the 'subscription to it.

As I make such pretensions to accuracy, I should not like to be twitted even with such trifles on that " score. Of the play they may say what they please, but not so of my costume and dram. pers., they 'having been real existences.

'I omitted Foscolo in my list of living Venetian 'worthies, in the notes, considering him as an Italian in general, and not a mere provincial like the rest; ' and as an Italian I have spoken of him in the pre'face to canto 4th of Childe Harold.

The French translation of us!!! oime! oime!'the German; but I don't understand the latter, and 'his long dissertation at the end about the Fausts. Excuse haste. Of politics it is not safe to speak, but nothing is decided as yet.

'I am in a very fierce humour at not having Scott's 'Monastery. You are too liberal in quantity, and 'somewhat careless of the quality, of your missives.

All the Quarterlies (four in number) I had had before 'from you, and two of the Edinburgh; but no mat'ter; we shall have new ones by and by. No more

Keats, I entreat :-flay him alive; if some of you don't, I must skin him myself. There is no bearing 'the drivelling idiotism of the manikin.

'I don't feel inclined to care further about "Don 'Juan." What do you think a very pretty Italian

lady said to me the other day? She had read it in the French, and paid me some compliments, with 'due DRAWBACKS, upon it. I answered that what ' she said was true, but that I suspected it would live longer than Childe Harold. "Ah but" (said she) "I would rather have the fame of Childe Harold for