alas! she was dead, or she would have made me happy with her hand-however in this you may use your own discretion. But I must leave joking, and seriously aver, that I have been werry romantic indeed among these Mountains and Lakes. I have got wet through, day after day eaten oat-cake, and drank Whisky-walked up to my knees in Bog-got a sore throat-gone to see Icolmkill and Staffa; met with wholesome food just here and there as it happened-went up Ben Nevis, and—N.B., came down again. Sometimes when I am rather tired I lean rather languishingly on a rock, and long for some famous Beauty to get down from her Palfrey in passing, approach me, with her saddle-bags, and give me—a dozen or two capital roast-beef Sandwiches. When I come into a large town, you know there is no putting one's Knapsack into one's fob, so the people stare. We have been taken for Spectacle-vendors, Razorsellers, Jewellers, travelling linen-drapers, Spies, Excisemen, and many things I have no idea of. When I asked for letters at Port Patrick, the man asked what regiment? I have had a peep also at Little Ireland. Tell Henry I have not camped quite on the bare Earth yet, but nearly as bad, in walking through Mull, for the Shepherd's huts you can scarcely breathe in, for the Smoke which they seem to endeavour to preserve for smoking on a large scale. Besides riding about 400, we have walked above 600 Miles, and may therefore reckon ourselves as set out. I assure you, my dear Madam, that one of the greatest pleasures I shall have on my return, will be seeing you, and that I shall ever be Yours, with the greatest respect and sincerity, My dear Fanny, LXIX. To FANNY KEATS. Hampstead, August 18th [1818]. I am afraid you will [think?] me very negligent in not having answered your Letter-I see it is dated June 12. I did not arrive at Inverness till the 8th' of this Month so I am very much concerned at your being. disappointed so long a time. I did not intend to have returned to London so soon but have a bad sore throat from a cold I caught in the island of Mull: therefore I thought it best to get home as soon as possible, and went on board the Smack from Cromarty. We had a nine days passage and were landed at London Bridge yesterday. I shall have a good deal to tell you about Scotland-I would begin here but I have a confounded tooth ache. Tom has not been getting better since I left London and for the last fortnight has been worse than ever he has been getting a little better for these two or three days. I shall ask Mr. Abbey to let me bring you to Hampstead. If Mr. A. should see this Letter tell him that he still must if he pleases forward the Post Bill to Perth as I have empowered my fellow traveller to receive it. I have a few Scotch pebbles for you from the Island of Icolmkill-I am afraid they are rather shabby-I did not go near the Mountain of Cairn Gorm. I do not know the Name of George's ship—the Name of the Port he has gone to is Philadelphia whence he will travel to the Settlement across the Country-I A mistake-see previous letter, written from Inverness to Mrs. Wylie. will tell you all about this when I see you. The Title of my last Book is 'Endymion '-you shall have one soon. I would not advise you to play on the Flageolet-however I will get you one if you please. I will speak to Mr. Abbey on what you say concerning school. I am sorry for your poor Canary. You shall have another volume of my first Book. My tooth ache keeps on so that I cannot write with any pleasure-all I can say now is that your Letter is a very nice one without fault and that you will hear from or see in a few days if his throat will let him, I have just written to Mr. Abbey to ask him to let you come and see poor Tom who has lately been much worse. He is better at present-sends his Love to you and wishes much to see you-I hope he will shortly -I have not been able to come to Walthamstow on his account as well as a little Indisposition of my own. I have asked Mr. A. to write me-if he does not mention any thing of it to you, I will tell you what reasons he has though I do not think he will make any objection. Write me what you want with a Flageolet and I will get one ready for you by the time you come. Your affectionate Brother My dear Jane, LXXI. To JANE REYNOLDS. Well Walk, Sept. 1st [1818]. Certainly your kind note would rather refresh than trouble me, and so much the more would your coming if as you say, it could be done without agitating my Brother too much. Receive on your Hearth our deepest thanks for your Solicitude concerning us. I am glad John is not hurt, but gone safe into Devonshire-I shall be in great expectation of his Letter—but the promise of it in so anxious and friendly a way I prize more than a hundred. I shall be in town to-day on some business with my guardian 'as was'1 with scarce a hope of being able to call on you. For these two last days Tom has been more cheerful: you shall hear again soon how he will be. Remember us particularly to your Mother. Your sincere friend LXXII. To CHARLES WENTWORTH DIlke. [Postmark, Hampstead, 21 September 1818.] My dear Dilke, According to the Wentworth place Bulletin you have left Brighton much improved: therefore now a few lines will be more of a pleasure than a bore. I have 1 Mr. Abbey. things to say to you, and would fain begin upon them in this fourth line: but I have a Mind too well regulated to proceed upon any thing without due preliminary remarks. You may perhaps have observed that in the simple process of eating radishes I never begin at the root but constantly dip the little green head in the salt -that in the Game of Whist if I have an ace I constantly play it first. So how can I with any face begin without a dissertation on letter-writing? Yet when I consider that a sheet of paper contains room only for three pages and a half, how can I do justice to such a pregnant subject? However, as you have seen the history of the world stamped as it were by a diminishing glass in the form of a chronological Map, so will I with retractile claws" draw this into the form of a table-whereby it will occupy merely the remainder of this first page Folio-Parsons, Lawyers, Statesmen, Physicians out of place-ut-Eustace-Thornton-out of practice or on their travels. Foolscap-1. Superfine-Rich or noble poets-ut Byron. 2. common ut egomet. Quarto-Projectors, Patentees, Presidents, Potato growers. Bath-Boarding schools, and suburbans in general. Gilt edge-Dandies in general, male, female and literary. Octavo or tears-All who make use of a lascivious seal. Duodec.-May be found for the most part on Milliners' and Dressmakers' Parlour tables. Strip-At the Playhouse-doors, or any where. Snip-So called from its size being disguised by a twist. |