mon opinion là-dessus, et consens à la chose en cas que vous ne puissiez mieux faire, et que ce soit une façon usitée en Angleterre en pareil cas: ce sera du moins une façon d'accélérer la fin de toutes ces choses; et vous serez bientôt convaincu que j'ai raison de désirer la conclusion de toutes ces affaires; et qu'il est de notre intérêt mutuel d'en tirer le meilleur parti possible plutôt aujourd'hui, que demain. Je me repose donc, Monsieur, sur votre diligence, et désire de tout mon cœur, qu'avant qu'il soit deux mois, j'aurai la certitude de votre part que je peux tirer le produit de ce qu'il me reviendra pour ma part. labors and abilities to auction; but I will, nevertheless, not withhold my consent, if you find that nothing better can be done; and if, as I presume, this is the common method of disposing of such articles in England: we shall thus, at least, settle the matter speedily, which will necessarily be to the advantage of us both. Indeed, there is nothing I so much deprecate as delay. MR. J. C. WALKER TO MR. PINKERTON. Eccles Street, Dublin, Till I saw your name in the monthly list, I was ignorant of your return. I sincerely rejoice at your being restored to your family, with whom I hope you will long enjoy uninterrupted happiness. I took the liberty to address a few lines to you at Paris on the subject of my Irish Bards. But I have as yet to learn whether or not the French translation of that work, on which your friend was then employed, has appeared. I have been informed that the Memoir on Italian Tragedy has been translated into French; but I am not sure that the information was correct. During your absence, I published a little Essay on the Revival of the Drama in Italy. If you have read that imperfect work, might I beg to be favored with your candid remarks on it? Do not spare me. As you sometimes read novels, permit me to direct your notice to Miss Owenson's Wild Irish Girl: it exhibits an admirable picture of the Irish. To the Irish character great justice has been lately done by Mr. Carr, in the Stranger in Ireland. We are all infinitely obliged to Mr. Mathias:* I should be guilty of no less injustice to my friend than violence to my own feelings, were I to omit this opportunity of joining my public testimony to that of Mr. Walker, in favor of the efforts of Mr. Mathias in the cause of Italian literature. These efforts have indeed been most praiseworthy and most extraordinary. Undeterred by labor, by expense, and, what is more than either, by the chilling indifference with which his publications were received, he has pursued his no less honorable than useful career, till he has brought a considerable portion of the classics of Italy within the reach of the English public, by editions of great beauty, great correctness, and moderate price. Many of them he has accompanied with dedicatory odes of his own composition, which show an intimate acquaintance with the structure and character of the language, seldom possessed by a native of any other country. Still more strongly is this power demonstrated in his subsequent translations of Milton's Lycidas, he has published, in an elegant form, several neglected Italian productions of considerable merit. The last he kindly sent me was Gravina's admirable little Treatise, of which you have given so excellent an account in Heron's Letters. I hope you have some new work in hand. If I can be of any use in the way of research, I trust I need not add that you may always freely command me. MR. PINKERTON TO MR. J. C. WALKER. Clement's Inn, No. 7, Sept. 14th, 1806. I am glad to see your hand-writing. I have been so long absent that I was not quite sure of your address; and, besides, since my return about a twelvemonth ago, have been so much overwhelmed by literary occupations, that I have scarcely written one letter, except upon indispensable business. The new edition of my Geography, 6 and of Mason's Sappho. The reception which his publications have experienced is very delicately and feelingly illustrated by an engraving prefixed to one of his volumes, representing a swallow in the act of flying from a barren island, with the epigraph, Di qua non spera.' Now, in the close of life, he is enjoying himself in delightful retirement at Naples, universally admired and courted, and receiving from foreigners that respect and attention, which I deeply lament that he did not receive at home, where it was still more justly due to him, and where, if it had not been denied, he might have continued to have resided, to the satisfaction of his friends, and the honor and benefit of his country. in three volumes quarto, enriched with all the new materials which induced me to have recourse to the libraries at Paris, still occupies all my time; but I hope to finish in two or three months* the prodigious task of a " Description of the whole World taken from original Authors." If you see Mr. Kirwan, be so good as to tell him I have brought him two little specimens from France. I know not what monthly list my name could appear in, as I was not strictly among the prisoners of war, but respected as a man of letters. The proposed translator of your work, having some dispute with the bookseller concerning the price, abandoned the undertaking. Soon after, he changed his lodgings; and, though I inquired repeatedly, I could not discover where he lived. I had only seen him twice, having first met him in a mixed company, where, in consequence of his speaking of his intended translation, I desired him to call upon me; and, in consequence, wrote the letter which you received. I believe your Memoir on Italian Tragedy is translated; and, if you wish, I shall write to a friend at Paris to send me the translation, if extant. I long to see your Essay on the Revival of * This new edition appeared in 1807. In the advertisement prefixed to it, as well as in this letter, Mr. Pinkerton takes credit to himself for his efforts to render it as perfect as possible; and it is only justice to him to state, that his correspondence furnishes abundant proof of his activity and industry in this respect; though the letters, being confined to inquiries about books of travels, or of topography, or maps, are not of a nature to interest the public. the Drama in Italy, but do not know where to find it. The Wild Irish Girl I shall read on your recommendation. If I had time, I should give a new edition of Heron's Letters, omitting about one third part of crude matter, in which case the book might serve the cause of Italian literature. It was truly odd that I should have omitted an introduction to the criticism on Virgil, which was provoked by reading the Hypercritica of Julius Cæsar Scaliger, in which he has totally run down Homer to make way for Virgil, his countryman. As I am so loaded with literary toil, I should regard it as a very friendly office, if you could order an edition at Dublin, with any remarks or corrections on the parts relative to Italian literature. I should in that case send a copy with large erasures. Command me fully, if I can assist you in any literary object here, and be assured of my constant regard and esteem. MR. WARDEN TO MR. PINKERTON. Paris, Oct. 2nd, 1806. I had the pleasure of writing to you a few days ago, in reply to yours of the 5th of September. I have since seen Chardin. No opportunity for sending to Madrid offers at present, though, in the course of a few weeks, there may be some means |